Chapter 870: The Diligent Shaq!

Generally speaking, upgrading your defense will more or less have an impact on the offense.

The Lakers felt that impact at the beginning too. Even though their improved defense really grabbed the attention of the media and fans, early on the bigger discussion was whether this kind of “sacrifice offense to strengthen defense” approach was actually making the Lakers stronger or weaker.

But as the Lakers’ adjustments went deeper—and as Del Harris lost a few more tufts of hair—that problem gradually got fixed.

By the time they played the Clippers, it was obvious: the Lakers were still maintaining that post–All-Star Weekend defensive efficiency, and their offense was getting better and better as they played.

After the first five games following All-Star Weekend, the Lakers got two days off.

On February 21, Sports Illustrated invited a panel of retired stars to form a commentary group and break down the Lakers’ style of play.

The conclusion they came to was pretty surprising—the Lakers’ offense did look affected after All-Star Weekend, but it wasn’t because they ramped up the defense. It was purely due to how they were distributing stamina and shuffling the rotation, and that situation was clearly improving.

However, since the opponents they’d faced weren’t all that representative, the more rational fans, even after hearing the analysis, still felt it needed more observation.

Sure enough, on February 23, the Lakers were about to face a challenge from the New York Knicks, who were third in the East.

By then, people would be able to see whether the Lakers had really begun to transform into an unbeatable team.

…

…

“The Pacers trade for assist king Mark Jackson… What are they thinking? Didn’t extend him in the offseason, and now they’re throwing in picks and players on top…”

“Dominique Wilkins is seeking a buyout? No one knows which team he’s already talked to. Wilkins really is something—ruptured his Achilles, at this age, and he can still come off the bench and be the Spurs’ leading scorer…”

“Trade rumors: the SuperSonics once tried to put the Rainman on the shelf? Is this story leaked by our team? Huh? No, wait, looks like the Rainman really might get traded this summer. His salary this year, let me check… 3.3 million, the price of a Pebble…”

“The Pistons tried to trade for Anfernee Hardaway but got rejected by the Magic… What, they want the two of them to gang up on Mr. Zhang?”

“The Bullets tried to use Juwan Howard to trade for Penny, got rejected…

The Magic flatly refuse to offer a 7-year, 128-million-US-Dollar contract, and Penny has clearly stated that without 128 million he won’t re-sign…

Uh… the Magic’s soap opera keeps going year after year, but it’s actually pretty fun to watch.”

“Asked about the Grizzlies having the worst record in the league, Duncan replied that going overseas to play isn’t something he can’t accept… Uh… seriously, what kind of pretentious answer is that? Did they ask you about your draft plans? Damn!”

On the morning of February 21, Zhang Hao was at home reading the paper, and naturally he was in a very good mood.

At first he was really surprised O’Neal would take the initiative to change. At the beginning his style of play was affected too, mainly because he didn’t know how he should adjust, but later, after a couple more games, he got used to it.

With more experience and a more complete defensive toolkit, O’Neal adjusted way better than him on the defensive end.

O’Neal’s offense was still the same, putting up just over 20 points a game, but now he was scoring more through aggressive, proactive attacks, first establishing the threat. After all, there really aren’t many teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves who can resolutely refuse to double O’Neal and instead try to wear him down. In these last five games, O’Neal has averaged 22.6 points and 4.8 assists—absolutely insane!

Of course, it’s not like O’Neal alone is carrying the whole team. There’s Mr. Zhang, Kenny Anderson, Doug Christie, the Magician… With them around, O’Neal can simplify his offense, casually get a bit over 20 points a night, and focus more on passing and, most of all, his transformed defense.

Five games, averaging 14.4 rebounds and 3.8 blocks, plus 22.6 points, 4.8 assists, and 1 steal per game—that’s just explosive!

After this stretch of five games in seven days, barring any surprises, Zhang Hao felt sure that when the Player of the Week is announced at noon today, it has to be O’Neal.

Roughly 22+14+4+1+4 a night, five straight wins—if that doesn’t get Player of the Week, something’s seriously wrong.

Over these few games, Zhang Hao felt genuinely thrilled. A hardworking Shaq is just too strong!

The day after tomorrow they’ll play the New York Knicks. Initially Zhang Hao was feeling pretty frustrated about it. Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy is a disciple of Pat Riley; on opening night Zhang Hao had already experienced the Knicks’ defense before they’d even fully gelled. In theory their defense shouldn’t be any worse than the Heat’s. Facing them again, he wasn’t all that confident.

But with this version of O’Neal, what’s there to fear about the New York Knicks?

Bring it on!

With two days off, and tomorrow dedicated to preparing for the game against the New York Knicks, the team had a day off today. Zhang Hao didn’t just bury himself in training—he spent time with his girlfriend, watched some news, relaxed a bit. Whenever he had a moment, he’d think about how to sync up better with O’Neal’s new style of play, how to protect the rim more effectively, and… do his best to learn from O’Neal’s “defensive demonstrations.”

He’s sure there will come a day when he and O’Neal switch roles, with him providing the help defense and O’Neal anchoring the rim.

He won’t stand still just because the current setup of O’Neal helping and him protecting the rim works well. On the contrary, he even feels a bit ashamed—it really is because his collapsing double-teams and rotation help defense have been so-so that Big Fatty has been forced to do the hard work.

It’s just that the skinny hardworking Shaq is way too strong…

Aprile Clark was at home keeping Zhang Hao company today, listening to him grumble at the news as he watched it. Even though Zhang Hao’s griping was all in Chinese, and after half a year of studying Chinese she still couldn’t really follow, she just felt it was fun.

When it comes to dating, the most comfortable phase isn’t the blazing life-and-death passion, but this stage where you can just sit together and whatever the other person says, you find it interesting.