Chapter 848: The Enemy of 18.3

Chapter 848: Chapter 264: The Enemy of 18.3

The Heat sent out a starting lineup of Tim Hardaway, Dan Majerle, Jamal Mashburn, PJ Brown, and Moning.

On one side, the offense is explosively strong, and on the other side, just looking at the lineup, the defense is suffocating.

The game started, and after O’Neal won the jump ball, the Heat intensified their defense right from the first possession!

This reminded the Lakers of the opening game against the Knicks, where the Knicks were not well-coordinated yet, their defensive synergy was lacking, and Ewing’s ability to attack had declined after losing weight… The Lakers struggled to win that game.

But tonight, the Lakers faced an enormous challenge!

On defense, the combination of Moning and PJ Brown, often called the strongest interior defensive duo, lived up to its reputation. This season, PJ Brown returned to the power forward position and displayed top-tier all-defensive level help defense. If Moning weren’t at the center position, he would definitely make the All-Defensive Team. Their defensive synergy is high, with one being quick and the other fierce, even O’Neal found himself struggling to break through.

On offense, the Heat played it very simply because they only needed a straightforward offensive approach, just focusing on effective defense.

Tim Hardaway averaged 21 points and 9 assists per game this season, making 2.6 three-pointers on average. His crossover is as effective as Iverson’s, making him the top candidate for All-NBA First Team point guard.

Dan Majerle, at 31 years old, is in his prime. Four years ago, in the Finals under Jordan’s defense, he averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists as the second star. His three-point shooting is precise, and his one-on-one skills are quite good, performing excellently as the third scoring option on the perimeter.

Jamal Mashburn, only 24 years old, could easily average over 20 points per game on any other team. It’s not just potential; in his sophomore year, he was already averaging 24 points. However, after an injury last season, he was traded by the Warriors to the star-studded Heat in the summer, where he could only be the second scoring option on the perimeter.

Moning also has the ability to average over 20 points, and off the bench, there are scorers like Voshon Leonard, Isaac Austin, Sasha Danilovic, and Keith Atkins, all capable of averaging over 10 points per game.

Heat’s head coach Pat Riley really doesn’t need to put offensive pressure on Heat players this season. Their offense focuses on one-on-one plays and distributing the ball, with a primary focus on defense. They average 94.4 points per game and concede 89.2 points on average, making them a team that grinds the pace to the extreme.

This approach isn’t because Pat Riley doesn’t want to emulate the Bulls’ balanced offense and defense, but because it’s not feasible.

Just like how the Lakers find it difficult to maintain high-intensity, high-efficiency defense throughout the game, the roster structure is what it is.

The Lakers players fit well together offensively, while Heat players fit well together defensively, which is the same principle.

This style of play by the Heat has an obvious vulnerability—if an opposing player explodes offensively and isn’t contained, the game becomes very difficult for them.

But how many can truly deliver explosive performances against their defense? After getting through the initial adjustment period, the Heat have surged to second in the East, indicating that their strategy is successful.

In the first quarter, the Lakers and Heat scored 18-21, and in the second quarter, the Lakers responded with a 22-17, leading the Heat 40-38 by two points at halftime.

This score is about the same as a single-quarter score usually! The Lakers were playing out of their minds!

In the third quarter, the Lakers attempted a push, but the Heat, the team that beat the Bulls 73-70 on January 17 to end the Bulls’ 9-game winning streak and handed them their 7th loss of the season, is genuinely dominant on defense. Instead, the Lakers got hit by Tim Hardaway and Mashburn’s back-to-back fast breaks for a 5-0 run, falling behind!

This moment was critical, as it was this slight strategic error that caused the Lakers to lose their advantage.

In the third quarter, the Lakers and Heat scored 19-24, and at the end of three quarters, the Lakers were trailing 59-62, entering the final quarter with a 3-point deficit.

At the start of the final quarter, Zhang Hao, who played the previous three quarters, regained his stamina by the end of halftime, facing influenced outside shots and a crowded paint, he still bravely scored 12 points in a single quarter.

However, the shooting percentage wasn’t great, making 4 out of 10 shots, including 2 out of 5 from three-point range, plus making 2 for 2 free throws.

But this performance did help the Lakers momentarily lead by 3 points, with Kenny Anderson, Barkley, O’Neal, and Brian Shaw playing some beautiful offense or defense under Zhang Hao’s leadership.

But just as the Lakers took a 3-point lead, the Heat ramped up to their most intense state.

In their most intense state, the Heat didn’t just have their best defensive quarter, but maintained high-intensity, high-efficiency defense while top candidate Tim Hardaway’s solo efficiency came alive, scoring 24 points in the final quarter! After being overtaken by 3 points, they took the lead back!

Ultimately, the Lakers lost at home to the Heat 81-86, swallowing their 10th loss of the season!

Hearing the final whistle and seeing the 5-point gap, Zhang Hao was very regretful, just a tiny bit more, just needed to make two more shots, from the 9 missed in the first three quarters or 6 missed in the fourth quarter, and they might have won.

But a tiny bit more is still missing by a tiny bit, his 15 out of 5 in the first three quarters truly fell short, and 4 out of 10 in the final quarter isn’t good either. Although his performance of 9 out of 24 shots yielded 26 points, with attempts less than a third of the team’s and scoring more than a third of the team’s points, appearing to exceed the overall performance, at such times, he must not only exceed his own team’s overall performance but also be even better, yet he’s just not strong enough…