Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 248 O'Neal's Nightmare
"I can't wait to play the finals. Losing the tiebreaker last year has tortured me for a whole year. I think about how to get revenge all the time. Thanks to Reggie. His lore is great. It looks like It was like that in New York when we were 29 years old. This time we will crush the Lakers severely and will not give them any chance to breathe, do you remember?" O'Neal gave the Lakers a challenge letter in an interview after the game .

Compared with last season, the Pacers lost Anthony Mason and Terry Brandon, and reinforced Gary Payton, Robert Hawley, Byron Russell and Horace Grant. They all came for O'Neal, and the purpose was to hit the championship at the end of their career.If the talkative brothers in the backcourt are ten years younger, it will be a nightmare for everyone in the league, because not only will they have to fight with them on both offensive and defensive ends on the field, but they will also receive continuous magical attacks mentally; Bowen is a 3D A model player, Robert Hawley, as the lucky general next to the super center, returned to O'Neal after a big circle; plus Al Harrington, Fred Jones, and Jeff Foster who is willing to be a substitute, the Pacers' lineup has improved a lot compared to last year, and the depth of the bench is particularly impressive.

"Shaq is talking big again, that's just his character, the Lakers players usually don't fight for some tongue-in-cheek, they spend all their time practicing, and I, who have nothing to do, do the talking. Responsible. The Spurs are a terrible opponent. We won the first two rounds relatively smoothly, but we encountered a lot of trouble in the Western Conference Finals. However, I believe that after such a round of series, the players will have new gains, which will help Because of their good performance in the finals, we are already familiar with the Pacers. They have strengthened a lot of players this year, but we are ready." Talking about the opponents in the finals, Jim showed confidence.

On June 6, the first game of the finals was held at Staples.

Karl Malone continued to miss out due to injury, the Lakers made another adjustment to the starting lineup, Greg Ostertag, who had little chance to play in the Western Conference Finals, played center, and Garnett finally returned to his familiar position after a season. At the power forward position, Artest returned to the small forward, and Kobe and Billups played the backcourt.

"We can say that the Lakers gave Greg Ostertag $800 million a year, and gave up several potential players and reliable backups, just for now. No one expects Ostertag in the offense. There is no performance at the end, but as long as he can withstand Shaq and prevent him from easily entering the three-second zone, then the task will be completed." Before the game, Kenny Smith made an analysis.

"It's a pity that Karl Malone can't play, otherwise we can see the funny scene a few years ago again. For two consecutive years, four All-Star teams were beaten 4-8." Barkley laughed, obviously forgetting He lost the Rockets he played for back then, sitting on the old Big Three and Kevin Willis, and was sacrificed by the Utah Jazz for two consecutive years.

People expect the rematch between the two sides to be a matchup like sparks hitting the earth. After all, last year's 1-3 reversal, O'Neal's epic statistics are all talked about, this year it seems that the Pacers have strengthened a lot, and the Lakers In addition to virtue, it has a somewhat weakened meaning.

As a result, when the game started, everyone was surprised.

The Pacers' offense started from the inside, but under the attack of Ostertag and Garnett, O'Neal's attack efficiency was mediocre, and Carlisle's combination of inside and outside tactics was also because of the Lakers' good rotation defense. With a good chance, the ball will often be returned to Gary Payton, who has the most unstable shooting. Gloves tried two three-pointers, both of which ended in iron strikes.

However, the Lakers' offense was methodical, targeting Hawley and Reggie Miller's two relatively weak defensive points. Garnett increased his offensive role. Li succeeded, and Artest also seized the opportunity to forcefully beat Reggie Miller. On the contrary, Kobe, who had no desire to attack at first, passed the ball frequently, and had already sent 4 assists in less than half a quarter.

The Lakers played a fantastic 18-6 start, which caught the Pacers by surprise.

When dealing with an insider like Duncan who has range, skills, and flexibility, Ostertag has little effect. He can show off casually when he is pulled out of the three-second zone, but when facing a monster in the three-second zone like O'Neal , Ostertag played the role of his best meat shield, with a height of 2 meters 18, a weight of 130 kilograms, and a brute force. He was consuming O'Neal's energy from the beginning of the position, and once the shark received the ball, Gane The special help defense will arrive immediately.

When O'Neal was in the Lakers, his mentality exploded when he was tossed by the Jazz's tactics. The coach at the time, Dell Harris, was only known as a silver fox, but his ability was actually mediocre, and he couldn't solve O'Neal's offensive problems when he was double-teamed.

Today's Carlisle is also in the same trouble. Compared with the 35-year-old Karl Malone, Garnett, who is now at the peak of his career, has more terrifying coverage on the defensive end. Can return to his defensive position in time to interfere with Hawley's shooting.

Gary Payton is no longer the glove who was able to chat and laugh with Joe's leader and spray trash talk to each other. Reggie Miller is not the cold-blooded killer who can fight with Joe's leader for seven games. Half points were reduced, and all the systems came from the Shark, a heavy battering ram, which smashed the opponent's defense system severely, and the others followed up to make up the knife and harvest the heads.

O'Neal's offense was blocked, and the Pacers stumbled throughout the game. They couldn't open the offense and couldn't defend. The Lakers' guard line had an absolute advantage against Reggie Miller, and Byron Laura on the bench Sale does not have Miller's three-point threat, and the defense is no longer as brave as it used to be.

After three quarters, the point difference was stretched to 20 points. O'Neal, who was extremely depressed, knocked Ostertag and got an offensive foul. He was dissatisfied with the referee's penalty, threw the ball into the player channel, and yelled at the referee. The referee roared and was sent off for two consecutive technical fouls. He only scored 19 points and 8 rebounds when he played.

O'Neal was sent off, and Carlisle gave up resistance and replaced the substitute in the fourth quarter. The Lakers steadily maintained their advantage until the end, 103 to 84, and won the finals.

Bryant had 16 points and 11 assists, Garnett had 15 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals. The Lakers' highest scorer was rookie Dwyane Wade, who played the entire fourth quarter and scored 21 points.

(End of this chapter)