Chapter 824: Finding the Right Approach Is Crucial

Looking at Ratliff, who is almost as tall, and then at Zhang Hao, Grant Hill felt his scalp tingle.

to 13, Lakers lead by 1 point.

What Del Harris arranged was to utilize Barkley’s abilities, not to organize the offense around Barkley’s threat like Zhang Hao and Kenny Anderson did in the first half of the first quarter.

Playing that way is fine, but it cannot achieve the best effect.

What is the best way to utilize an inside player with a career average of 20+ points during the regular phase?

Scoring!

Helping Barkley score and maximizing Barkley’s scoring ability is what Del Harris considers the best option.

A crucial point is that the usual strategy revolving around Barkley’s threat rarely happens; it’s actually quite difficult for teammates to cooperate around this point. It’s better for the whole team to assist Barkley in scoring.

Zhang Hao had no objections to this.

Although Grant Hill imitated his, Mr. Zhang’s, playstyle tonight, scoring 8 points in the first half of the first quarter while Mr. Zhang hasn’t scored any points yet, he really wanted to compete in scoring with Grant Hill. However, winning is the most important thing.

The moment he made that pass, he received a system prompt that the advanced target "Mr. Evil" failed, and the Silver Lottery Draw Opportunities were lost.

However, there are still regular goals to achieve.

The sum of three stats must be higher than Grant Hill’s, with scoring being the primary focus, since he and Grant Hill’s strengths are mainly in scoring.

But the way to achieve it...

Besides competing in scoring with Grant Hill, there’s another way...

Stop Grant Hill!

Joe Dumars pushed to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Grant Hill. Zhang Hao was the one sticking to Grant Hill this time.

Grant Hill had a speed advantage and wanted to use speed to turn and break through like he did against George Lynch earlier, but Zhang Hao anticipated Grant Hill’s breakout direction, took a step ahead to block the position, and when contesting, lifted his elbow to block Grant Hill. Grant Hill bumped into it, hit the acromion, and failed to turn and change direction immediately due to the pain.

Protecting the ball, retreating outside the three-point line, Grant Hill felt the improvement in Zhang Hao’s defensive details, with more little tricks!

Looking at Zhang Hao’s just 20-year-old face, still tender and fresh, and calm as if full of righteousness, he looks like a good person, but he’s actually a little demon and a major antagonist!

Unable to turn strongly forward, Grant Hill had no choice but to go straight to the inside despite not being able to avoid Zhang Hao’s interference on mid-to-long range shots!

Zhang Hao mainly blocked Grant Hill’s mid-range shots, sticking close which forced the opponent to step back for a jumper, with Jason Williams coming over to trap. Grant Hill passed the ball to Terry Mills, and Doug Christie was in place to help defend.

Terry Mills, who used to play as the big brother with Jason Williams, really surprised people after gaining weight. His charging ability wasn’t as good as when he was 104 kg, but his skills became more refined. He passed the ball the first time he got it, over the heads of those in the three-second zone, lobbed the ball to Lynch Hunt on the right side of the three-second zone.

Lynch Hunt was surprised to receive the ball and hurriedly shot, but didn’t make it. Seeing Jason Williams grabbed the rebound, Lynch Hunt quickly retreated.

He only sneaked in while Kenny Anderson went to cover the left Joe Dumars, to see if there was an opportunity to grab an offensive rebound, who would have thought that Terry Mills would even make the pass.

This season, Terry Mills developed a 43% three-point shooting ability with an average of 3.3 three-pointers per game, and an average of 2.9 assists, a career high performance, having played half the season, yet teammates sometimes still couldn’t adapt. Before Edith Soper came, Terry Mills was an athletic inside player!

Both teams adjusted their play style according to the current situation. The Lakers began to launch attacks around Zhang Hao or Kenny Anderson, creating scoring opportunities for Barkley. Barkley could either shoot or pass, depending on the situation.

This playing style is similar to Barkley’s style during his time with the Phoenix Suns, as the inside core. Zhang Hao completely cleared the inside space for Barkley, initiated offense from the outside, even giving up mid-range space. Although Zhang Hao sacrificed something, it made the Lakers’ overall offense more favorable.

Under these changes, it was the Pistons who initially held the initiative, but were forced to adjust.

The Lakers’ early double-teaming on Grant Hill forced him to focus on passing, unable to continuously score like in the first half of the quarter. With Zhang Hao defending Grant Hill, Doug Christie was freed to join Kenny Anderson in limiting Joe Dumars and also help defend the opponent’s mid-range shooters.

However, the Lakers’ defense on Ratliff and Lynch Hunt wasn’t that good, as Grant Hill, Joe Dumars, and Terry Mills all excelled in passing.

The game’s situation differed from the first half of the first quarter. The Lakers were initially in a disadvantageous position, catching up with Barkley’s help to keep the score tight, but the score situation remained similar to the first half of the quarter. Both sides have now adjusted and attacked more targeted, with the score still tightly contested.

Relying on Lynch Hunt’s three-pointer from a pass by Joe Dumars, the Pistons led the Lakers by two points at 29 to 27 at the end of the first quarter, entering the period break.