He had started training on free throws very early and had changed many postures, although in the end, none proved to be highly effective, his overall free-throw level was improving.
While those two successful free throws just now were partly due to luck, luck is also part of one’s strength.
And never underestimate those two free throws; they directly changed the Celtics’ defensive strategy.
The next round, when O’Neal again took a low position, the Celtics had already abandoned the hack-a-Shaq tactic.
They, of course, didn’t know what was happening with O’Neal, but the astute Rivers had already deduced that O’Neal had a hot hand tonight, and sending him to the free-throw line wasn’t a wise choice.
Thibodeau, standing by, appeared sowhat speechless, but like Malone, he was ultimately just an assistant coach. To have his own voice in decisions, he still needed to be the head coach.
O’Neal was dominating in the paint, and it also created a virtuous cycle.
Because O’Neal was dominating the paint, both teams were playing a set ga, which ant O’Neal didn’t need to waste energy running back and forth across the court, so he had more strength for one-on-one plays down low, continuing his dominance.
In that quarter, O’Neal played for a full nine minutes before being substituted. In the last four minutes, he shot 3 out of 5, made 3 out of 4 free throws, and scored 9 points.
It was a glimpse of the leopard through a tube—an insight!
Those young fans who hadn’t seen the Big Shark in his pri, especially the new Boston fans, got a good look.
Even so couldn’t help but fantasize that if they could get O’Neal on their team, it would be another significant upgrade for the Celtics.
After all, Garnett was best at help defense, and his skills were very complentary to those of O’Neal.
Of course, that wasn’t the point at the mont. The focus now was that before Jas sat down, the Cavaliers were trailing 0 to 8.
After Jas sat down, and before O’Neal did, the Cavaliers had already overtaken the score, leading 17 to 14!
In the past, the Cavaliers couldn’t afford to lose Jas, just as the West couldn’t afford to lose Jerusalem.
But tonight, the Cavaliers without Jas were playing even better!
With two minutes left in the first quarter, Hansen also took a break.
This ti, Brown didn’t wait for the second quarter to start and quickly brought Jas back into the ga.
Tonight, Jas’s stat line was empty except for the number of shots and turnovers.
Nothing could be more important than that.
It was Jas’s staggered ti to play, yet during that ti, his performance was still hard to watch.
He actually committed an offensive foul while attacking Glen Davis.
Clearly, this wasn’t an injury issue, but a complete ntal breakdown.
The Celtics took the opportunity to catch up, and at the end of the first quarter, both teams were tied at 21.
In the opening of the second quarter, Hansen and O’Neal were still resting off-court, and Jas was still leading the team on the court.
However, within three minutes, the Cavaliers were already 5 points behind the Celtics.
Hansen and O’Neal exchanged glances, their eyes expressing so speechlessness.
Jas was having a completely negative impact on the court tonight.
In the end, Brown still substituted Jas out, partly to give him ti to adjust, and also because this ga was extrely important for the Cavaliers.
Losing this match would an both teams were back to the starting line again.
Brown knew the Celtics, an old adversary, very well; if the series were dragged out by the opponent, they were likely to win.
O’Neal was still resting off-court, but Hansen and Jamison geared up and entered the ga early.
After Hansen returned to the ga, he and Jamison went for a pick and roll outside, but his shot was off.
After sitting off for a while, his shooting touch had declined.
This was a normal fluctuation; no one could maintain a hot shooting streak all the ti on the court.
He didn’t force his shots but signaled to West and used his off-ball movents to draw defenders away, creating offensive opportunities for Jamison.
Even though Jamison was at a disadvantage against Garnett, at this mont, Garnett wasn’t on the court.
A jump shot from mid-range following a pick-and-pop, a post-up move with a lateral fadeaway after catching the ball low, plus a basket cut leading to a layup drawing a foul and making one of two free throws.
As it turned out, this strategy was effective; as long as he wasn’t facing Garnett, he was still the Jamison from the first round.
Such a performance forced Rivers to bring Garnett back on the court earlier, and at Malone’s reminder, Brown adjusted accordingly and put O’Neal back in.
O’Neal had a half-court outburst with 5 out of 9 shots made, 6 out of 8 free throws, scoring 16 points with 6 rebounds and 2 assists, putting on a rather explosive show.
And with his inside presence, the Cavaliers shot 49% from the three-point range in the first half, leading the Celtics with a score of 56 to 53.
The Shark was old?
Still able to feast!
Hansen’s shooting touch fluctuated that night; he made 3 out of 8 in the first half but managed to score 8 points with his free throws.
Jamison added 11 points to his account.
Jas’s performance was sowhat pitiable; he shot 0 out of 7 in the first half, got 4 points from 6 free throws, and committed 4 turnovers.
In his past life, Hansen didn’t know Jas from the Cavaliers 1.0 era very well; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had to guess that the Cavaliers were eliminated in the semifinals that year.
But because Yao was with the Rockets, like countless East University fans, he was a die-hard Rockets fan who didn’t miss a single ga.
It was for that reason that his most profound impression of Jas was that classic "eting in Houston" ga.
In that ga, Jas, under the defense of Artest and Yao, finished the ga with 7 out of 21 shots, scoring 21 points with 1 rebound and 0 assists.
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