[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1693":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1445110,1896,"Chapter 1693 - 27: Urgent Need for Change (2)","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1693",1693,"\u003Cp>Before the game, Phil Jackson repeatedly reminded O’Neal, hoping to relax his mindset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the summer, after O’Neal learned that Jackson would be the Lakers head coach, he made a special visit to Jackson’s home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he started having a great time playing on the trampoline in Jackson’s yard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A three-hundred-pound guy on a trampoline was felt miles away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neighbors came over to watch, O’Neal had dinner at Jackson’s house, and the two talked at length.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they envisioned the next season, O’Neal kept saying, \"Next season will definitely be full of fun.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From then on, Jackson understood O’Neal’s mental core: he needs fun, needs entertainment, needs someone to play with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A star like him must be cajoled and praised, never thought of suppressing him; the right amount of encouragement is enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first four games, O’Neal delivered dominant performances, especially the game against the Dallas Mavericks, with 32 points and 20 rebounds, completely overwhelming the Mavericks’ interior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jackson set a target for O’Neal, hoping he could win the regular-season MVP this season; it should belong to O’Neal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So from summer training camp to the start of the new season, O’Neal’s attitude has been much more earnest than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Jackson’s words, he nodded earnestly, standing at center court ready to jump ball against Sabonis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After being tormented by Gan Guoyang these years, O’Neal’s mindset was already tempered, telling himself, \"I’ve fought with Ah Gan,\" the current NBA number one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Rodman’s assistance, O’Neal can focus more on offense; before the season started, his weight once reached 350 pounds, now it’s returned to a more normal level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at his physique, 330 pounds is a certainty; this is absolutely an unprecedented super-heavy bomb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the jump ball, O’Neal pushed past Sabonis, Ron Harper got the ball, starting their first offense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lakers started cautiously, adhering to the slow-paced style of the former Chicago Bulls, neither hurried nor slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jackson believed his style could defeat the Trail Blazers, but the issue lay in the Bulls’ guard-forward dominant system, not the Trail Blazers’ interior system opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After joining the Lakers, which made O’Neal the absolute core, Jackson believed the situation could reverse; Ah Gan’s decline was imminent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers started by using their old methods against O’Neal—Sabonis defending one-on-one, no double-teaming, no help defense, preventing O’Neal from linking with his outside teammates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, O’Neal had made significant improvements compared to previous seasons, while Sabonis’ one-on-one defense capability had notably declined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 27 years old versus 35 years old, the dynamics shifted, reducing Sabonis’ ability to limit O’Neal one-on-one greatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, in the first few possessions of the first quarter, O’Neal shot 4 of 3 over Sabonis, quickly scoring 6 points and opening up the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, on the Trail Blazers’ side, to conserve some energy for the crucial stages later on, Gan Guoyang handed offensive duties to Kobe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Kobe struggled against the dual defensive lock of Kidd and Harper, besides missing shots, he also committed two turnovers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In half a quarter, the Lakers led 11:5, the Trail Blazers scoring 5 points only through Sabonis’ one-on-one play and Gan Guoyang’s three-pointers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This offensive efficiency was the current state of the Trail Blazers; the kind of overwhelming offense from the 1997-1998 season simply couldn’t be replicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Firstly, their inability to hit outside three-pointers was a fatal flaw; in the 1997-1998 season, Chris Mullin’s counterattack threes were as accurate as if hacked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How about now? Mullin, shaved bald and having drunk beer all summer, sat on the bench quietly watching the game, perhaps contemplating where to have a drink after the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Replacing Mullin was Alan Henderson, younger, taller, with better physical attributes, yet still a traditional three-four position swingman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His three-point ability was zero, with zero attempts last season, a player entirely incapable of shooting threes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, Bird trading Riddle for Henderson didn’t seem to be a good deal; the weakness of not being able to shoot threes made Henderson’s position very awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, during his time with the Hawks, Henderson played power forward more, adept at 45-degree single ball handling and cutting to the basket for layup scores.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After joining the Trail Blazers, his role at the starting small forward wasn’t clear, struggling with Carlisle’s offensive system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With ineffective offense and defense unable to stop O’Neal, Carlisle called a timeout for adjustments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the timeout, the same approach continued, Gan Guoyang stood out, scoring consistently from low positions to stabilize the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Lakers’ offense and defense system was already in motion, O’Neal was on, Kidd began threading the needle, using his organization to find breakthroughs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phil Jackson didn’t rigidly impose the Triangle Offense entirely on the Lakers; he knew Kidd was a crucial point not to overlook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Bulls’ Triangle Offense, the Point Guard’s role was simple: dribble past half-court, defend, shoot from the top scorer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lakers’ offense couldn’t let Kidd merely play a functional Point Guard role; Kidd inevitably needed a high ball-handling duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phil Jackson, leveraging his reputation as the league’s biggest persuader, engaged Kidd extensively, persuading him to give up the fast pace and focus on organizing in the half-court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Jackson applied his genius tactical imagination, telling Kidd, \"Actually, you can organize even without the ball,\" euphemistically dubbed \"off-ball organization\"!\u003C\u002Fp>",881,"2026-06-06T01:42:06.061Z",1,"novelbin.me","0ebad9020219642d9850956043b29b5517a5d6a27e2de54f9d2bd6880e220534","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1694","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1692",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]