Chapter 911 277: Gentleman Edition Pick and Roll

Neither Riley nor the Divine Calculator called a timeout before the official timeout. At this point, calling a timeout first would give their players the feeling that their team needed an adjustment, which would somewhat impact their mindset.

Pat Riley didn't need to call one; this was their rhythm, and he was steady.

Del Harris didn't call because there was no good solution on the offensive end. If he needed to substitute players, he would have done so when a foul occurred earlier.

Who would have thought it was the Heat who got hit with a 2+1 going into the official timeout? This was genuinely uplifting for the Lakers.

Originally, Del Harris thought of letting Zhang Hao and O'Neal go all out, dealing with whatever came their way, leaving it to fate. But Zhang Hao's recent play made him reconsider...

...

After the timeout, the Lakers deployed a lineup of James Robinson, Wilkins, the Magician, Barkley, and Zhang Hao.

The Heat countered with Tim Hardaway, Voshon Leonard, Dan Majerle, PJ Brown, and Isaac Austin.

During the timeout, Pat Riley continued to emphasize defense — sticking to defense was the right call, since offensive issues couldn't be solved. At the start, he thought they could get the offense going, but it turned out to be nothing.

Looking at the Lakers' lineup... are they disregarding defense? Besides Zhang Hao, who else can defend on that lineup? Wilkins, in his youth, was pretty capable on defense, perhaps not at the level of an All-Defensive team, but still top-notch. But at this age, even if he maintains his form, he can at best avoid being a liability on defense.

The Heat's head coach and players were shocked by the Lakers' rotation. But even the Lakers' players themselves felt unsettled — it was agreed that when O'Neal returned, defense was the first priority, so what the coach just planned seems unrelated to defense.

But what could they do? The coach was the one in control of the rotation remote, deciding who goes on the court.

First play after the timeout, Tim Hardaway broke inside, caught Zhang Hao's defensive attention, then threw an alley-oop to Isaac Austin, with Zhang Hao turning only to become a part of the background...

12 to 10, the Heat easily secured two points after the official timeout.

Letting the opponent pick up two points so easily left the Lakers players feeling really...

Better think about how to attack now.

The coach has forced them into this situation, what else could they do?

At this point, the confidence boost from Zhang Hao's slam over the opponent in the previous play was coming into effect. Normally, in such defense-dominated games where there's no clear, breathtaking offensive tactic from one side, giving up on defense would be a tough blow for players, akin to pulling a blunder.

Del Harris's strategy wasn't dazzling either... but looking at Zhang Hao, the teammates still thought they'd give it a try first.

James Robinson received the inbound pass and was instantly shadowed by Tim Hardaway. Fortunately, the Lakers' guards have a trait: they might not be great at much, but they can still dribble past half-court reliably, passing the ball to Wilkins.

Wilkins received the ball and moved towards the top of the arc. Before even reaching the top, Zhang Hao stepped out, setting a screen just half a step outside the arc on Dan Majerle.

Setting a screen in this position... is fine, but why suddenly switch to aggressive offense? Wouldn't it be better to remain steady? Once again, Wilkins felt he might have made the wrong choice joining this team. The teammates seemed unreliable, and even the coach didn't seem... dammit!

During his lateral crossover, the ball was stolen!

Zhang Hao swiftly intercepted the ball that Wilkins intended to dribble down after the screen, turned, crouched, and elbowed his way past PJ Brown and Dan Majerle straight to the basket!

This time, his movements were more fluid, better prepared to accelerate. As Zhang Hao charged the basket, there wasn't even a single opponent on him, easily dunking the ball with one hand!

Breaking free, opponents had time to retract; when teammates broke into the mid-range and got stuck, opponents switched defenses swiftly, making cuts and mid-range shots hard to come by... But with this pick-and-roll play with teammates, Wilkins, who was the team's best stable outside shooter, averaging 1.7 three-pointers per game since recovering from an Achilles tear, and 1.2 per this season, still a veteran star, posed quite a threat, drawing two defenders to the top arc...

Previously, Zhang Hao didn't think he could play pick-and-roll, and indeed he can't play a proper pick-and-roll now either.

But he doesn't need to do formal handoffs and cuts, just steal the ball and go!

Watching Zhang Hao run past after dunking, not showing the least hint of exhaustion, Wilkins finally understood why Brian Shaw had looked so puzzled after the coach laid out the strategy during the timeout.

So, the coach thought it was a tactic involving Brian Shaw and Zhang Hao, but in reality, it was just Brian Shaw getting the ball stolen by a teammate?

This is a bit...

However, it seemed like no one else noticed, Wilkins thought as he retreated. It did appear as if he handed the ball to Zhang Hao, who then immediately turned and drove...

In such situations, Wilkins figured he wouldn't mention it, and next time, he'd be proactive when passing, making it seem like he was organizing the offense.

Getting the ball stolen by a teammate, what a situation!

Transitioning to defense, the Heat attacked.

This year, the Heat's lineup was sufficiently powerful, but lacked coherent offensive coordination —though their individual abilities were strong. Voshon Leonard faced off against the Magician's defense, drove close, but was blocked by Zhang Hao coming in for help.