God's hand behind the scenes

Chapter 246
Trust Mutombo?

Brown glanced at Chang Wei suspiciously. Basketball is not something that can be done just by talking about it.Although Mutombo's performance this season is really good, averaging 14.5 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, but facing a historic insider like O'Neal, he is at least one level behind in terms of physical fitness. How easy is it for him?
Not only Brown expressed doubts, but other people in the conference room were also talking about it. Everyone didn't believe that Mutombo could cause trouble for O'Neal inside.In fact, O'Neal is now the league's well-deserved No. [-] center, and he is also a player who was selected as one of the top [-] superstars in NBA history at a young age. It is really difficult for Mutombo to compete with him.

Chang Wei spread his hands and said: "Guys, it is impossible for us to give up the inside offense and defense. Dikembe is already the best inside player in our team. If we don't let him fight against Shaq, is it possible to let that big shark turn the world upside down?" ?Whether we believe in Dikembe's ability or not, we must have full confidence in him now. I don't want to see Shaq scoring [-] or [-] points every game in the paint. There is no suspense anymore, let's pack up and go home as soon as possible."

Indeed, no matter whether they can hold O'Neal or not, the team must believe in Mutombo.Chang Wei is very clear that in the first decade of the 21st century, the person who could restrain O'Neal before he was old is still working hard for the first league championship on the other side of the ocean.In the 90s, when the four major centers had entered a period of decline, it was difficult to have another insider in the league who could kill O'Neal in a short period of time, and Mutombo was already one of the best.

That being the case, no matter whether everyone believes that Mutombo can hold O'Neal inside, they must choose to believe at this moment.Brown sighed, nodded and didn't speak. He had already started to think about what inside players he would bring in during the offseason if he didn't win the championship this season.If the 76ers want to win the championship, the Lakers will never be able to avoid the hurdle. Unlike Chang Wei, he knows that the OK combination will fall apart after a few seasons. Moreover, O'Neal joined the Heat after leaving the Lakers in his previous life. The championship, the 76ers still can't avoid this inside behemoth after all.

Seeing that Brown had acquiesced to his statement, Chang Wei stood up first, and said with a smile: "Time is running out, I will discuss with Dikembe now how to fight against Shaq, no matter what the result is, we must at least be prepared. "

Looking at the back of Chang Wei pushing the door, Brown shook his head slightly. He has always had confidence in Chang Wei, but this time he didn't know how Chang Wei would make Mutombo able to fight O'Neal under the basket. I hope he can give everyone a surprise. If it fails in the end, it seems that it is time for the team to make further upgrades...

In the player restaurant, Chang Wei saw Mutombo who had just eaten and drank and was about to leave. He strode forward and said to Mutombo: "If there is nothing else later, let's talk about it." How about a chat?"

Mutombo felt a little strange. He asked curiously: "Chang, do you want to discuss the game with me? The coach arranges us to play as we want. I think... there seems to be nothing to discuss, right?"

Chang Wei smiled and said, "There are still some, such as how to fight O'Neal in the paint, how about this topic?"

Mutombo's face changed, and he was speechless for a long time.O'Neal's terror is clear to him as the party involved. Although the two teams played equally well in the regular season, in fact he was completely suppressed by the opponent inside.

After the two sat down in a remote corner, Chang Wei said straight to the point: "What do you think about Shaq? It's not the first time you and him have faced each other in so many seasons. You must have some experience." ?”

Dikembe Mutombo smiled wryly and said: "Forget about what you think, since I have been in the league for so many years, I have basically been beaten by him inside. Shaq is indeed a talented top insider with a huge weight. He also has completely incongruous agility, and his scoring methods in the interior are quite rich. To put it bluntly, any insider facing him, no matter how hard he tries, will be crushed by him. Perhaps the only one who can defeat him is the Hakeem in their prime, right?"

Of course Chang Wei knew who he was talking about, Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the greatest centers in NBA history. In the 1994-95 season, the Rockets reached the Finals as the sixth seed in the Western Conference, facing the Magic led by O'Neal.In front of the experienced Olajuwon, O'Neal was completely defeated, and the Magic were also swept 4-0.However, although Olajuwon averaged 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2 blocks per game, and used his famous fantasy dance steps to play around the immature O'Neal in the interior, the latter still has an average 28 points, 12.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.5 blocks.

Although Chang Wei used props for Mutombo, his strength is not comparable to that of Olajuwon in his peak period, so it is impossible to beat O'Neal one-on-one, so we can only find another way to limit this. big shark.

Chang Wei thought about it for a while, and asked carefully: "If someone helps you hold Shaq, can you restrain him while assisting in defense? To put it simply, you can use blocks to teach Shaq when he is busy with physical confrontation. He is human..."

"This is a good idea, but is there such a player in our team? With all due respect, it may be difficult for Rashad to take on this important task? I am afraid that Shaq will directly knock him out."

Chang Wei laughed and said: "Of course it can't be Rashad. My idea is to let your substitute Todd Markloch play. The two of you form a twin tower. He is responsible for defending Shaq, and you are responsible for assisting defense." , this may be able to restrain him."

It is of course possible to double-team O'Neal, but not many teams will do such a thing. After all, it is equivalent to emptying another insider of the opponent.Although the Lakers' starting power forward Grant averaged only 8.5 points per game this season, he still needs to be careful with his mid-range shots.Mutombo also considered this question: "So what about the power forward Grant who starts with O'Neal? Let him score unscrupulously inside?"

Chang Wei shrugged: "It's the lesser of two evils. It's better to let Grant score points than to let Shaq score points, right? Besides, I believe in our scorers, as long as they can score more points than the Lakers' perimeter , then there is no problem?"

(End of this chapter)