Chapter 866: Big Fatty and the Boss (6K)_4

The Timberwolves attack first, Garnett sets a pick for Marbury and then cuts to the mid-range near the baseline. Guglielota is still pulled up to the high position, Marbury takes advantage of O’Neal compressing under the basket and passes to Guglielota, Jerome Kersey moves out as Zhang Hao blocks Marbury, and stops Guglielota here.

Guglielota doesn’t force a shot but finds an opportunity, passes to the baseline!

Marbury has already pulled away, Garnett cuts in from the baseline, Zhang Hao blocks him, Garnett receives the ball, makes a beautiful spin to get past Zhang Hao, leaps for a layup… O’Neal leaps from the left side of the three-second area and swats Garnett’s layup out of bounds with one hand!

Garnett looks at O’Neal as he high-fives Jerome Kersey… he vows! He will never play center his entire life! O’Neal is too brutal! This weight, almost 10 kilograms heavier than Francovic, but the speed is almost the same!

The Timberwolves continue their attack; since Garnett’s layup didn’t touch the rim, the Timberwolves have 7 seconds left on their shot clock.

Marbury comes directly, facing Byron Scott’s defense, Marbury steps back for a three-pointer… it really went in!

There’s nothing more that can be done, the Lakers had already defended well this round.

When Kenny Anderson received the inbound from Zhang Hao, he saw Zhang Hao’s calm expression and lost any slight irritation from Marbury’s three-pointer, steadily advancing towards the frontcourt.

When Zhang Hao ran toward the frontcourt, he wasn’t as calm inside as his expression suggested…

When it was the Lakers’ turn to attack, O’Neal received the ball low without forcing his play but instead passed to the center, Zhang Hao took advantage of Jerome Collins’s pick, cut in to receive the ball and dunk, scoring two points.

The Timberwolves’ offense was improving, and the same was true for the Lakers! They had more targeted offensive coordination against the opponent’s defense.

At another Timberwolves attack, previously Marbury faced Zhang Hao, and every time Zhang Hao defended him impressively. Zhang Hao defending Marbury was still the best choice; Doug Christie couldn’t handle speedy point guards.

However, this time the Timberwolves made adjustments, forcing Zhang Hao to protect the rim, because both opponent towers could pull out, even though Jerome Collins was deployed to shadow Garnett, the Timberwolves towers were decisive and accurate tonight. They had many cutting opportunities, and if Zhang Hao went to defend Marbury alone, Marbury could drive to the basket, and Zhang Hao would lack inside help in defense.

It’s true Zhang Hao is excellent at rim protection, but he can’t match those top-tier rim protectors.

However, at this time, O’Neal took the initiative to act as a help defender!

No need for communication or discussion, a bad relationship doesn’t mean poor teamwork, Zhang Hao resolutely guards the basket this time, O’Neal went to block Marbury’s breakthrough.

When Marbury attempted to pass, Zhang Hao preemptively covered Guglielota, Marbury reacts quickly, stabilizes the ball but didn’t stop his foot in the confrontation, resulting in traveling under O’Neal and Kenny Anderson’s double-team!

The Lakers’ defensive change greatly surprised the Timberwolves!

When have we ever seen O’Neal do this kind of job?

The key is, if you put aside the physical differences, it actually suits them quite well!

Zhang Hao has acknowledged defensive talent… Zhang Hao’s talent evaluation is on par with Chamberlain and Jordan.

But he’s still young, and it’s evident he’s mainly enhancing his offense. Currently, his help defense doesn’t drag behind but just barely. Compared to O’Neal’s help defense, there’s still a significant difference; overall, his rim protection paired with O’Neal’s help defense is more effective than his help defense with O’Neal’s rim protection!