One Year Left to Play

Flawless!

Did O’Neal change his personal opinion about Zhang Hao with this statement? Not really.

But he felt that what Zhang Hao said was exactly what he wanted.

Especially the last adjective "Superman," he really liked it!

Unable to find a pivot, O’Neal was now in a daze...

Everyone else found the words comforting too.

The Magician was now completely relaxed. He curiously asked, "Aix, how do you think Shaq should play?"

The best sidekick, Zhang Hao secretly gave the Magician a thumbs-up, responding, "Mr. O’Neal, you’re the first shooting point, no doubt about it. Anytime you feel you should go one-on-one, or you want to play solo, you can always ask for the ball for a tactical play. We’ll definitely figure out a way to get the ball to you as quickly as possible.

Likewise, I hope you can calmly handle this matter. For instance, when you serve as the strongest distraction point and feel your teammates can score with your help, maintaining an aggressive posture is the most perfect threat.

The strongest weapon isn’t used madly all the time; rather, it forms a threat.

During regular time, the tactical initiation point should also change, revolving around your threat, Mr. O’Neal, to craft every tactic while you’re on the court. And we should reduce your tactical consumption as much as possible, so you can play more simply, achieving the goal of reducing consumption during regular time.

On the defense end, I’ll strive to enhance my power forward’s supporting abilities so you can stay well under the basket, allowing us to play to our strengths and give up those not as strong, so we don’t waste stamina.

Our goal isn’t the regular season. Sometimes wins and losses aren’t that important in the regular season... Besides, I don’t think we’ll really lose too many matches. We’re quite strong."

No clear tactics were proposed, but a new way of thinking emerged.

Del Harris contemplated Zhang Hao’s usage suggestion. Now that he’d calmed down, he found more room for maneuver—the team’s offense would split into two parts—O’Neal playing solo, or O’Neal staying close to threaten others.

Further subdividing and drafting tactics is easier than previously figuring out how to integrate O’Neal into the tactics during regular time.

As for coordinating in close range with O’Neal, less than a month into the new season, there’s plenty of time to accumulate practical data slowly and prepare for the playoffs.

If O’Neal agreed to this style of play, at least their current chaotic situation would be interrupted, with a clear, definite direction!

The Magician would support him no matter what, Del Harris was persuaded, Boss Kenny was even more admiring of his little brother, Barkley wanted to say, "Me too..."

Adding Zhang Hao, five people’s eyes focused on O’Neal.

O’Neal wasn’t a fool. Actually, he just wanted to argue with Zhang Hao. Today, aside from wanting to argue, he also really wanted to hear how Zhang Hao planned his play style. If it made sense, even if he wouldn’t agree verbally, he would silently adopt it during games... as long as it’s not too hard to implement.

They must keep winning; otherwise, he’s indeed leading the Lakers to a record slump upon his return.

Now at 9 wins and 4 losses, he’d be willing to cooperate if there were really good adjustments.

But Zhang Hao’s suggestion of letting him slack off—he truly didn’t expect it.

It’s no longer a matter of difficulty; it’s downright beneficial!

Having calmed down, he parsed every word Zhang Hao said, rearranging them, sensing Zhang Hao’s intention to reduce his regular season performance opportunities.

Still, when imagining the scenario Zhang Hao described, O’Neal felt—it was so comfortable!

Under the spotlight, O’Neal made an effort to express disdain, responding, "I’m willing to do anything to win, willing to sacrifice or assume more responsibilities. I’ll definitely do what I need to do, but I don’t know if you’ll mess up."

With O’Neal maintaining his last bit of pride... no, stubbornness... no again, dignity...

Anyway, after O’Neal agreed, Del Harris left the conference room, sighed, prepared to take a nap, then work overtime.

With a clear direction and temporarily resolving O’Neal’s reluctance to cooperate, he did breathe a sigh of relief, but he knew busy times lay ahead.

All because of that pesky kid causing him so much troublesome work!

...

...

After a day’s rest, on November 24th, the Lakers would host the Spurs.

Originally, this game was scheduled for nationwide broadcast; nobody predicted at the season’s start that David Robinson would really be out.

The Spurs were quite lucky; the adverse effects of David Robinson’s absence hadn’t fully manifested yet, and the Lakers stole the spotlight.

Although the nationwide broadcast was nearly canceled, O’Neal and Zhang Hao’s post-match conflict kept it alive.

At 7 p.m., the Lakers vs. Spurs game kicked off.

Media and fans were very concerned: what impact would the Lakers’ internal conflict have?

Shortly after the game began, the Lakers maintained dominance; the Spurs had no desire to win and wouldn’t try to get a victory in those matches where they could lose.

In the end, O’Neal made 9 out of 16 shots, plus 10 successful free throws out of 18, for 28 points, 21 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. Zhang Hao hit 11 out of 18 shots, including 2 out of 7 three-point attempts and 4 out of 5 free throws, for 28 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. Kenny Anderson added 14 points and 9 assists, George Lynch recorded 12 points, plus Barkley’s 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist... The Lakers slaughtered the Spurs 109-85, avoiding consecutive losses, earning their 10th win of the new season.

However, although the Lakers won, TV commentators noticed an astonishing issue—O’Neal’s tactical status in the game was weakened!

Despite O’Neal’s 16 shots, besides the added free throws, he missed 7 shots—he totaled 23 attempts—O’Neal grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, meaning 11 out of his 23 shots were made after collecting his offensive rebound!

Thus, a new topic arose—O’Neal lost the internal team competition to Zhang Hao!

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