751: 256: It’s over, I really ate shit for nothing!
(Asking for monthly passes!)_2 751: 256: It’s over, I really ate shit for nothing!
(Asking for monthly passes!)_2 The overti ga began, and the starting players from both sides regrouped.
The Lakers’ starting lineup hadn’t changed, while on the Hawks’ side, Eric Snow replaced Pierce.
O’Neal started trash-talking as soon as he got back, “You got lucky, Roger, if I had been here just now, you’d already be back hugging your girlfriend and crying.”
Roger was tired of these people always saying he was lucky.
As if attributing their own weakness to bad luck could conceal their incompetence.
But Roger ended the ga with a simple sentence.
“Shut up, Shaq, your breath stinks after eating that thing.”
“Pfft!” Snow couldn’t help but snicker on the side.
Shaq felt an unprecedented humiliation.
He tried to forget that incident just now, but Roger’s trash talk brought the dead mory back to attack him.
O’Neal clamd up, hmm?
Why did it faintly really sll a bit?
Ah, no!
I need to focus, focus, dammit!
The referee felt that if he didn’t start the ga quickly, Shaq was going to get hit again, so he imdiately started the ga.
The enraged Shaq jumped very high and took the ball with certainty.
For the first offensive move in overti, Kobe got the ball first.
But he wasn’t the finisher, rather a pivot.
The Zen Master watched Kobe intently, very worried.
He was very afraid of Kobe going rogue in overti.
In fact, the Zen Master had been worried about this the entire ga.
There’s no doubt, the last attack and defense in regular ti were like a maiden lying in Kobe’s arms, tempting him to unleash his desires, to draw out the wolf within his heart.
After all, if just one of Kobe’s defensive or offensive actions had succeeded just now, the Lakers would already be celebrating their victory.
For soone as competitive as Kobe, the recent setback must have felt like ants crawling in his heart, and he certainly wanted to imdiately score consecutively and win it back.
But Kobe, once again, managed to control himself and passed the ball to Shaq, who was already in position.
Kobe hadn’t started to behave since the last Eastern Conference Ga 2, but was from the previous season after being thrashed and the heartfelt talk at Shaq’s house, which made Kobe decide to rein himself in.
This season was probably the calst in his career.
He took the initiative to consult assistant coach Tex Winter, learned the triangle offense, and during training, he strictly followed the coach’s tactical requirents and practiced his movent and positioning.
He painstakingly carved out his defensive skills and was willing to take on heavy defensive responsibilities.
He repressed his urge for isolation plays and beca a faithful executor of the triangle offense.
Kobe’s highest score in a ga this season was only 40 points, and it happened only once for the whole season.
Kobe played his role with peace of mind, temporarily pressing down on his earnest desire to dominate a team.
The wolf inside him still made occasional appearances, but it was just that, occasional.
What was keeping Kobe in check?
The 16-ga winning streak at the start, the three 10 ga winning streaks within a single season, never losing more than three gas in a row all season, and the final record of 69 wins.
And, of course, the thirst for the championship.
That said, Kobe loved winning.
But to keep him in this restrained state, the Lakers better keep winning.
The ball went to Shaq, who threw off Big Ben like a prehistoric beast, and slamd the dunk even faster than Marion’s help defense.
Because from the very beginning, O’Neal had secured a favorable position, that mont had already dood the defense to failure.
Shaq now had 37 points.
Even after the crap-eating incident, it couldn’t overshadow that he was the best player for the Lakers today.
This was the OK combination this year, very coordinated and delightful.
As O’Neal scored and was about to trash-talk, he saw Roger covering his nose.
Seeing Roger not taking the bait, Shaq turned to Kobe, “Fuck!
Wait till we win the ga, I’m going to kill Paul Pierce!”
Kobe, disliking the sll, twisted his head and ran away.
Bill Walton didn’t want to comnt on Shaq’s recent offensive, instead he asked Marv Albert, “Do you think Shaunie would be willing to kiss Shaq when he gets back to Los Angeles?”
“I must say, that would take imnse courage!” Marv Albert replied seriously.
No matter what Shaq does on the court, people will only rember the mont he ate shit.
O’Neal gritted his teeth.
He’d already eaten it, so if he lost now, wouldn’t that be in vain?
He had to win!
The Lakers’ offense was still unstoppable, proving that Pierce’s consecutive three difficult threes at the crucial mont of the last ga were indeed as valuable as gold, directly lowering the difficulty of beating the Lakers.
The ga continued, and Phil Jackson was now confident in creating trouble for Roger on the defensive end.
With Paul Pierce having fouled out and in the locker room washing his ass, Kobe, the Lakers’ best periter defender, could finally be utilized in the most valuable place.
However, Roger played off the ball in overti, which is why the Hawks had put in Snow.
Snow himself had no offensive capability, but because of the illegal defense rule, the person defending him had to stay in front of him.
Also due to the illegal defense rule, whenever Roger moved off the ball, only Kobe could chase him.
Any attempt at a double-team without the ball would be considered illegal defense.
Moreover, Pippen and Marion kept making off-ball cuts, which also kept the Lakers defenders on their toes, preventing them from easily double-teaming Roger.
So as long as Roger played without the ball and was decisive after receiving it, he could create an effect similar to a one-on-one with Kobe.
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