Chapter 860: I'm a Die-Hard Fan of Boss Qiao! (11,000 Words)_5

Chapter 860: Chapter 266: I’m a Die-Hard Fan of Boss Qiao! (11,000 Words)_5

Those positive, affirmative evaluations were largely promoted by Jeanie Buss, which was very beneficial for building the Lakers culture and brand.

Del Harris had a simple idea: since he’s not the head coach, it’s good for the Big Three to rest more.

On the afternoon in Minneapolis, the Lakers quickly got back into season mode, undergoing two training sessions, a 40-minute offensive training and a 40-minute defensive coordination training.

Some players might not have noticed the tactical detail changes, but most of the Lakers players felt there had been adjustments since, after all, many of the Lakers players could be future head coaches.

Zhang Hao could feel from the subtle adjustments that the coaching staff wasn’t idle during the All-Star weekend break, figuring out ways to enhance defense as much as possible without affecting the previously successful offensive performance through lineup rotations.

But honestly, Zhang Hao feels that his team’s defensive problems are indeed a significant challenge…

The road is getting narrower and narrower.

Del Harris has the idea of wanting to enhance the defense but avoiding impacting the offense, Zhang Hao feels the coaching staff has developed a mindset of taking a path less traveled, pursuing one direction to the end.

But there’s no choice; the reality is what it is. Having too many stars has its pros and cons, just like how the Heat has almost no offensive chemistry but excellent defensive coordination. Does someone at Pat Riley’s level not want to deliver an offensively and defensively integrated performance? It’s not feasible!

It’s rare for three stars like those on the Bulls to perfectly mesh on both offense and defense; dynasty-level teams are inherently special.

In most cases, sacrifices must be made.

Given that, figure out how to excel in what can be done!

…

“We have All-Stars too!”

After resting for a night, on the morning of February 13th, the Lakers returned to the Target Center.

When the team bus entered the parking lot, Zhang Hao saw a lot of fans gathered outside with signs like these.

Back in the day, the Lakers were also the team of this city, and the fans here have always deeply missed the legendary Lakers dynasty that achieved five championships in six years.

Since the Minnesota Timberwolves became the new NBA team in Minneapolis during the 89-90 season, they’ve struggled for recognition. Whenever the Lakers played here, it felt like playing on home turf as local fans were incredibly supportive of them.

But this year, the situation has clearly changed.

Since Garnett joined the Timberwolves and Philip Sanders became their head coach, the Timberwolves finally started establishing a fan base that belonged to them, growing locally.

When things reach their limit, they begin to reverse: Minneapolis fans loved the Lakers so much that as NBA games became more popular, they increasingly missed the former Lakers dynasty. If the Timberwolves didn’t show promise, they’d continue loving them.

But this year, the Timberwolves have already developed playoff potential, with the “Three Wolves” combo of Guglielota, Garnett, and Marbury becoming the new hope for local fans.

At this point, the love that could never be reciprocated transforms into hatred.

Zhang Hao sensed this intense hatred from the local fans…

Timberwolves fans strongly wanted to announce to the world that they too have talented players, not envious of the Lakers.

This sentiment was difficult for Lakers players to understand, and people’s emotions are always challenging to connect…

…

The first game after the All-Star weekend, the Lakers were determined to win from top to bottom to kick off the latter half of the season positively.

The game drew a lot of attention, as a star-studded team like the Lakers playing their first post-All-Star game is always captivating.

The Lakers have Zhang Hao, the Timberwolves have Garnett, and Zhang Hao, Garnett, Rashid Wallace, Antonio McDyess, and Joe Smith have already earned the reputation of the “Power Forward Golden Year” of the ’95 class.

Whenever any two among the five face off, it attracts extra attention, similar to the added attention towards that season’s rookies. Each of these five has the potential to become superstars in the future.

Such a scenario is truly an honor for the five from the ’95 class, as not every year’s rookies can be remembered past their rookie year.

Among those recalled in the past 20 years, it’s only the golden generation of ’84 and the silver generation of ’88.

Even Zhang Hao feels quite accomplished in making their ’95 class known for the “Power Forward Golden Year” title.

Moreover, Zhang Hao’s “malice” towards the other four talented power forwards from the same class has become a key highlight of the game. Garnett has become an All-Star, and faced with Zhang Hao again after several days, what kind of performance can he deliver? Can Zhang Hao continue dominating his peers from the same class?

…

After a day of preparation, by 6:40 PM, the players from both teams entered the arena.

When the Lakers players entered, they received overwhelming boos in the stadium for the first time.

Even Zhang Hao, who had only been with the Lakers for a little over a year, felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

But when the first starter from the home team, Garnett, appeared, he was delighted by this scene as his efforts were finally yielding some rewards.

However, looking at O’Neal, Barkley, Magician, Brian Shaw, and others casually joking on the opposite side, and then seeing Zhang Hao’s indifferent expression… Garnett felt quite frustrated!