One Year Left to Play

The Lakers’ five star players took the court together, but the actual starter was Doug Christie. The Magician, citing "we five should debut together," snatched the entry opportunity.

Since the Magician wanted to take the court together, he was naturally the one to appear last.

Regarding this matter, the Magician had already discussed it with Doug Christie in advance, and the latter expressed his support.

Since training camp began, Shaquille O’Neal and Zhang Hao have felt at odds with each other, and Doug Christie also knows that the team’s relationships are hard to reconcile.

O’Neal is outgoing and has good relations with everyone; Zhang Hao, despite his cold nature, possesses strong personal appeal and is both hard-working and talented—a perfect basketball player.

Yet the two just don’t get along, so Doug Christie chose to sacrifice some unimportant things to prevent conflicts between them.

By 7 PM, the Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns game started.

After 2 hours and 23 minutes, by 9:23 PM, the Lakers triumphed easily over the stunned Suns with a score of 102-88.

Aside from Rex Chapman seizing corner shot opportunities, achieving 7 out of 15 shots with three successful three-pointers, plus a successful free throw earning 18 points, the rest of the Suns were underwhelming.

With O’Neal protecting the rim, Sibaros managed only 2 of 7 shots for 4 points, forced into mid-range shots, Kidd hit 2 of 15, with 2 successful threes out of 5, scoring 14 points but only managing 5 assists, Kevin Johnson scored 3 out of 9, relying on 6-for-6 free throws for 12 points...

Meanwhile, on the Lakers’ side, scoring was far below previous games.

O’Neal’s first game back saw the Lakers become a team purely relying on isolation scoring, the pace slowed to the extreme, with only 70 attempts in total.

O’Neal played 31 minutes, hitting 7 out of 12 shots, 2 out of 3 free throws, earning 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Zhang Hao hit 6 out of 11, including one three-pointer, with 5-for-5 free throws, scoring 18 points, failing to surpass 20 points in the new season for the first time.

Kenny Anderson scored 2 out of 4 attempts, with 8-for-8 free throws, earning 12 points and 6 assists.

Doug Christie hit 4 out of 10 attempts, including 4 successful three-pointers out of 6, earning 12 points and 2 steals.

Barkley also made an enthusiastic effort tonight, hitting 5 out of 8, drawing 6 out of 7 free throws, scoring 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist.

...

O’Neal’s return game win stirred intense discussions about the Lakers’ performance.

Even though the Suns faltered at crucial moments, Cotton Fill Simmons’ tactics don’t fit this era anymore; before the game against the Lakers, they had a record of only 2 wins and 6 losses, but the Suns just kept collapsing in the last few minutes of each quarter. During the first three quarters, their performance was top-notch; even against the Bulls, they once led by over 10 points with a halftime score of 59-48, despite being hit with 23-13 in the third quarter, they regrouped in the early fourth quarter. The Bulls had to rely on late defense and steady scoring to barely win 99-97 against the Suns.

But this game, the Lakers won over the Suns purely with iso-play, showcasing their impressive one-on-one skills.

Their five starters, one by one, were like invincible entities.

...

The day after the game against the Suns, the Lakers visited USC’s home arena to challenge the Clippers.

This time, the Lakers’ 5-day 4-game stretch was generally okay; the first back-to-back matches weren’t much different from a home back-to-back, just another court in Los Angeles.

The Clippers significantly improved their strength this season.

This offseason, after the Lakers acquired Barkley, many players wanted to come and fight for the championship together, but at that time the Lakers were still waiting for O’Neal, unable to provide answers. Moreover, Logo Man already had a clear plan for role player introductions. So, Lakers legend Elgin Baylor seized the opportunity and helped the Clippers acquire several players who wanted to play in Los Angeles.

Two-time Coach of the Year and Championship winner Bill Fitch, who looks like a fat cat, finally has something he can use, and the Clippers quickly became a playoff contender, starting the season with a 5-4 record, the same as the Timberwolves.

Facing a capable opponent that can win games, compared to an effortless slaughter, is definitely more exciting for fans.

USC students, when the game started at 7:30 PM, gave Zhang Hao and the Lakers the warmest cheers. Among the college student groups in the Los Angeles area, at least at USC, the Lakers have become their absolute home team because Zhang Hao is a sophomore at their school, and in May, some even saw him in the exam hall. Even while playing in the NBA, he didn’t neglect his studies, earning A’s in every exam...

However, tonight, the 3000-plus USC students and other fans came to watch the Lakers left disappointed.

Previously, there was neither the opportunity nor the proper lineup; despite the hire of a famous coach, the Clippers were always dominated by the Lakers.

But this time, Bill Fitch saw an opportunity!

Firstly, the Clippers have the ability to struggle; secondly, the Lakers’ coordination isn’t smooth enough; and importantly, O’Neal particularly wanted to show off.

It’s not that O’Neal particularly wanted isolation plays or anything, but he was exceptionally proactive, eager to help his teammates, immediately assisting whenever he spotted an "opportunity" to help.

Yet this caused chaos in the Lakers’ offense.

O’Neal isn’t required to do much in the tactics; even when included in the team’s tactics, his role is quite simple.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!