Chapter 823 - 258: Finding the Right Approach Is Crucial (6K)

The Pistons have made significant preparations for this game.

Although the competition between the new generation of stars is a personal rivalry between Grant Hill and Zhang Hao, the Pistons management and coaching staff are certainly creating better conditions for Grant Hill to compete with Zhang Hao.

They must capitalize on O’Neal’s absence to help Grant Hill defeat Zhang Hao once.

From Zhang Hao at the Brooklyn Nets to joining the Lakers, Grant Hill has faced Zhang Hao four times and hasn’t won even once, creating enormous competitive pressure for him.

Grant Hill is the face of the Pistons!

The focus of the Pistons’ defense tonight is to stop Zhang Hao. As long as they can limit Zhang Hao’s scoring, judging by most of the Lakers’ previous 39 games, it will definitely have a significant impact on the Lakers’ offense.

Moreover, their overall defense is excellent. Indeed, they lost Alan Houston, which took away an average of 20 points per game scorer from their offense and hindered their progress toward becoming a top-tier team. However, without Alan Houston, who was a defensive liability, their defense is firmly in the league’s top five, currently allowing only 89 points per game. Focusing on defending Zhang Hao can also significantly disrupt the Lakers’ other players.

However, the Collins Brothers have concerns before the game—Barkley!

That Christmas game washed away Barkley’s "precipitous decline" assessment, changing it to "reserving energy for the playoffs."

Tactics, to some extent, are analogous to gambling, just like double-teaming the main scorers while leaving the unstable secondary shooters open; strategy is similar.

The regular season, unlike the playoffs, has a high upset probability. The Bulls lost to the Raptors, who are third from last in the East, mostly because there are no chances for playoff-like trial and error, where losing one or two, or even three games, could still win the series. Strategy and tactics are one-time gambles.

The Pistons are betting that Barkley won’t exert himself too much to better limit Zhang Hao.

But their gamble has failed!

With continuous switching defenses on Zhang Hao and Ratliff defending the rim effectively against George Lynch, using Lynch Hunt to restrict Kenny Anderson, as long as Barkley actively attacks on offense, the Pistons simply can’t defend!

The Pistons started offensively strong, effectively defending their target players, but midway into the first quarter, Barkley scored six points for the Lakers, bringing them 12 points in half a quarter, equaling the competition with the Pistons.

With Grant Hill’s close-range spin toss scoring, the Pistons led 13 to 12. At 6 minutes 41 seconds of the first quarter, the Lakers called for a timeout.

Zhang Hao and Kenny Anderson made good adjustments, using Barkley’s threat proactively after he consecutively scored two baskets, swiftly altering team play.

But they didn’t utilize it completely effectively. During the timeout, Del Harris made more targeted adjustments based on Barkley’s performance tonight.

The Lakers substituted Jason Williams for George Lynch, placing Zhang Hao at the small forward position.

The Pistons substituted Terry Mills for Edith Soper to strengthen their shooting ability.

The Pistons’ Collins Brothers were in a tough spot. They successfully used quick defensive retreats to suppress attempts without slowing the pace, which reduced the shot count—a defensive tactic they excel at.

But it didn’t lower the Lakers’ offensive success rate, so they had to sacrifice some effective defense to enhance offense.

Ultimately, they still can’t find a way to defend against the Lakers!

This is something almost all NBA teams currently can’t solve unless the Lakers have extremely poor shooting touch outside, only needing to close in and lock down consistently outstanding Zhang Hao. Otherwise, they must follow the Lakers’ pace and engage in offense.

...

After the timeout, Kenny Anderson received the inbound pass, advanced to the frontcourt, and passed to Zhang Hao ready for the ball outside the three-point line.

Grant Hill was fully prepared, clinging tightly to Zhang Hao outside the three-point line.

Zhang Hao raised his elbow, bracing against Grant Hill, and turned left to break through!

Grant Hill was already prepared, having felt Zhang Hao’s strong upper body force multiple times, swiftly retreating and utilizing a faster burst speed to timely block and stick to the breaking Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao suddenly pulled the ball back, with Grant Hill hastily rushing in to defend against Zhang Hao’s step-back three-pointer.

However, after Zhang Hao pulled back a step, he smoothly executed a behind-the-back dribble, evading the charging Grant Hill. The "King of Cross Step" was triggered! Speed soared to 92, starting at the fastest pace, directly breaking through to the inside!

Terry Mills, gifted despite his bulky build, had surprisingly unaffected mobility, timely covering the spot, with Ratliff also ready to block and interfere once Terry Mills stopped Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao seized the opportunity for a cross pass, allowing Barkley to catch the ball on the left baseline and execute a mid-range shot before Grant Hill could reach to defend, scoring.

Terry Mills’s ball-like agility surprised Zhang Hao, as did Zhang Hao’s outer-line directional breakthroughs shocking the opponent.

They had seen it before, but back then Zhang Hao resorted to it only once in desperation, the movement quite awkward.

And now, how long has it been? Just two months! Zhang Hao can already fluidly execute directional moves on the perimeter!