Chapter 863: Big Fatty and the Boss

Chapter 863: Chapter 267: Big Fatty and the Boss

Just a little bit, just a little bit more and Zhang Hao would have been the background, but he saved himself!

O’Neal gathered the rebound, protected it, didn’t rush into a counterattack since the opponents were fast, waited for them to run off, and then passed the ball to Zhang Hao.

After Zhang Hao received a pass from O’Neal, he was about to pass to Kenny Anderson, but saw that Kenny Anderson had already run toward the frontcourt!

Zhang Hao advanced to the frontcourt and saw Kenny Anderson gesturing for the ball… alright!

Earlier, Garnett pushed the ball forward once, and now Boss Kenny wants Mr. Zhang to push it forward once too.

At the start, Zhang Hao made a play. Although he played well, Kenny Anderson didn’t continue to let Zhang Hao play, instead signaling O’Neal to establish position.

Zhang Hao quickly spread out, O’Neal moved to the left low post in the three-second zone, received the ball, crashed into Guglielota, and slammed the ball into the basket.

Guglielota tried hard to resist, using the maximum effort to wear down O’Neal.

But couldn’t defend, and there was nothing the Timberwolves could do.

When it was Timberwolves’ offense, Garnett pushed again, handed over to Marbury in the frontcourt, and then directly went up to screen Doug Christie for Marbury.

Marbury executed a pick-and-roll breakthrough, his speed advantage over Barkley became even more apparent, the overall mobility of the Timberwolves increased with Marbury’s quickness!

Zhang Hao retreated into the paint to help defend against Marbury, O’Neal quickly moved to the baseline to block Sam Mitchell’s cut, the ball was passed to Guglielota, who scored with a mid-range shot!

Failing to defend against O’Neal, the Timberwolves’ trio aimed to impact the game on offense.

Marbury + Garnett + Guglielota, such a trio, all capable of mid-to-long range shooting and passing, the key is their teamwork, indeed difficult to guard.

Nonetheless, the Lakers’ offense, even with the Timberwolves greatly improving their defense this year, couldn’t be stopped!

After letting Zhang Hao make a play early on, Kenny Anderson didn’t let Zhang Hao play further, instead had Zhang Hao spread the space for O’Neal to lead the attack.

It’s clear that when Zhang Hao faced Garnett, there were hardly any opportunities for mid-to-long range shots, he could only go all out to attack the paint.

The success rate wasn’t bad, but facing Garnett to attacking the paint drains more energy than against most other interior opponents!

Under such circumstances, Kenny Anderson decisively chose to let O’Neal take the lead in the opening stage.

Since returning from the All-Star weekend, O’Neal has become noticeably more active, no slacking off when he needs to work on offense, relentlessly hammering Guglielota.

Moreover, on defense, O’Neal has been withdrawing actively, quite different from before the All-Star weekend.

However, the Timberwolves’ trio’s offense is indeed hard to guard, this formation reminiscent of the Dallas 3J, has become the “limitless potential” trio in the minds of media and fans. Unlike the Dallas 3J, who didn’t convert talent into performance, the Timberwolves already turned their talent into achievements in their first year of collaboration.

In the opening phase, the Timberwolves strive to rely on offensive measures to offset the disadvantage of failing to defend against O’Neal, and on defense, Guglielota wisely withstands with brute force, avoiding inadequate moves even if unable to hold, to prevent fouls.

O’Neal made three consecutive baskets at the start, helping the Lakers achieve a score of 10 to 6!

Back to the Lakers’ offense, Kenny Anderson didn’t allow O’Neal to continue one-on-one plays.

Opposing defense remained intact! So letting O’Neal go one-on-one wouldn’t have been as effective.

From Kenny Anderson’s perspective, O’Neal’s one-on-one scoring serves two purposes: breaking the stalemate when needed and stabilizing the situation when necessary.

Having O’Neal lead the attack aims to draw the opponents’ double-teaming, but the opponents refused to double-team, maintaining robust defense, Guglielota might not excel in physical capability, height, and wingspan, being historically a power forward who moved to center due to Garnett, yet managed to achieve this season’s 6th best defensive efficiency among league centers with his 208cm, 110kg build, quite smart.

Given the opposition’s solid offense, persisting in O’Neal’s solo play would mean mindless exhaustion of his strength.

Kenny Anderson initiated self-driven offense, dribble-drive-pass, keeping O’Neal’s rebounding threat, Barkley’s mid-range maneuvering, and Zhang Hao seeking support opportunities…

Games don’t necessarily require an early advantage; the lengthy span of a match demands a long-term plan.

The opponents intended to drag, Kenny Anderson switched to a dragging mode as well.

Witnessing the situation on court, Kenny Anderson teamed with Zhang Hao, leveraging the double-fatty for pressure, engaging with the opposing trio, surprising Del Harris at the sidelines.

The strategy didn’t surprise him; rather, with the Timberwolves scoring 3 out of 6 possessions, Del Harris had planned to adopt such an approach from the outset.

However, before he could call a timeout to adjust, Kenny Anderson had already begun the approach!

Apparently, after the All-Star weekend, Kenny Anderson experienced a significant change in mentality—more proactive leadership of teammates, more confident!

Kenny Anderson’s adjustment was quite appropriate indeed, facing the harmonizing style, exceptional talent, and unlimited youth of the Timberwolves’ trio, their defensive performance wasn’t ideal. As the game progressed, the trio adapted to O’Neal and Zhang Hao’s tight defense, establishing a sharper offensive display.

Releasing O’Neal from offensive duties enables him to concentrate on tight defensive efforts. Aside from Marbury’s breakthroughs reaching the inner paint, O’Neal alongside Zhang Hao conducted excellent defensive measures against other Timberwolves players’ close and basket shots, forcing Marbury to decide between passing and shooting within the paint; yet once passed, negated further basket deliveries through subsequent passes, encumbering Timberwolves into more mid-to-long distance shots.