One Year Left to Play

As soon as Zhang Hao got the ball, he saw O’Neal being fouled and sighed helplessly, casually taking a shot... and to his annoyance, it went in!

After being fouled, O’Neal’s first glance wasn’t at Rick Mahon, the one who fouled him, an old player who only came on to commit fouls, nothing worth watching.

After being fouled, O’Neal looked up to see Zhang Hao sighing and making the shot, immediately shouting at Zhang Hao, "Who caused this?"

Hearing O’Neal’s anguished roar, even the Pistons players and the fans near the baseline couldn’t help but laugh.

The Lakers players were helpless too. Back then, who would have thought O’Neal would sign for them without fuss, besides Zhang Hao?

Zhang Hao felt wronged—if I, Mr. Zhang, don’t use it, the Mad Scientist behind me would use it well too!

The number of fouls still didn’t reach 4, and it was still the Lakers’ possession.

The clock reset back to 24 seconds.

Although players love attacking and shooting, even defensive teams don’t like always defending; offense scores points, and the team with the most points wins.

But continuous offense isn’t that pleasant, especially after being fouled twice in a single possession, forced to take a third attack.

Kenny Anderson felt his rhythm was off; if the strongest offensive point O’Neal got the ball, he would definitely be fouled. Receiving the inbound pass, Kenny Anderson was about to rush this possession when Zhang Hao actively asked for the ball.

Kenny Anderson immediately passed it over, feeling calm looking at Zhang Hao’s composed expression.

Composed as he was, when Zhang Hao got the ball facing Grant Hill’s defense, he sensed there was no chance!

Earlier he tried finding a position to spin and cut in, but Grant Hill’s positioning and footwork were exceptional. He could raise his elbow to block, but there was a high chance of being called for a foul, and the opponent’s defensive details were well-covered.

Jumping up directly for a shot, the opponent could keep up, possessing good physical fitness and excellent defensive awareness.

There’s no choice then, just force a drive!

Zhang Hao turned around, facing Grant Hill, dribbling cautiously, then suddenly accelerated to the left!

Grant Hill sensitively shifted half a step right, not locking his feet as expected, Zhang Hao paused, Hill stopped, preparing to withdraw left, but Zhang Hao hesitated a moment before continuing the left drive, this hesitation made Hill one step slow on the next move.

"King of Cross Step (Bronze) activated, Zhang Hao successfully fakes and gains space for a drive, speed temporarily +3, initiating at maximum speed upon gaining breakthrough space..."

Even if a step slow, Grant Hill could usually use his speed advantage to keep up, at least sticking with Zhang Hao into the paint to double with teammates, while also closing off Zhang Hao’s passing options before the double-team completes, and sealing the passing lane once the double-team forms.

However, with Grant Hill a step slow to turn, he couldn’t catch up!

Zhang Hao charged into the paint with a boosted speed of 92!

Zhang Hao rushed to the left side of the key, grabbed the ball, raised it with both hands, dashing towards the hoop...

The two under the basket just saw it was Zhang Hao attacking from the outside; O’Neal didn’t believe Zhang Hao could pass Grant Hill, at most forcing a drive, and immediately entered the paint, trying to secure the rebound or a better receiving position. Despite his age and limited playtime, Rick Mahon bravely tussled under the basket with O’Neal. In the midst of the struggle, they heard a gasp, turned, and saw the Lakers’ logo coming at them...

"Bang!"

"Beep!"

Zhang Hao faked out Grant Hill, drove into the paint, and dunked over O’Neal and Rick Mahon, slamming the ball with both hands while pressing down on them!

The referee blew the whistle; Rick Mahon pushed the already airborne Zhang Hao during the dunk. Although it didn’t cause Zhang Hao to miss, and he only stumbled slightly after landing before regaining his balance, the referee still called a foul on Rick Mahon!

The Lakers’ bench erupted, and the players on the court, except O’Neal, were all excited.

Magic, Jason Williams, and Barkley on the sidelines felt satisfied instantly.

As a center for the Lakers, if you don’t get dunked on by your own teammate, you have no clout!

They were not happy because someone shared their fate but because O’Neal now had a presence!

Zhang Hao’s basket counted, and he had an additional free throw, the scorer’s table rang the long whistle, signaling a team substitution.

Called by name, O’Neal glanced at the calm Zhang Hao stepping to the free throw line, walked towards the bench with a mix of anguish and excitement, high-fiving Magician, Jason Williams, and James Johnson before sitting heavily on the chair, causing his adjacent teammates to feel the vibrations. Truly, they admired the chair’s durability.

O’Neal had no choice! It was his teammate who completed such a spectacular poster dunk, and he felt both anguished and thrilled—he couldn’t shake the thought of how beautiful the play was, and it only added to his frustration that he was the one dunked on!

Zhang Hao missed the additional free throw, and Rick Mahon grabbed the defensive rebound.

Pistons on offense, Lakers quickly retreated to defense.

On the sidelines, Doug Collins watched as the opposing team subbed O’Neal out; he was somewhat surprised and a bit disappointed. If they fouled O’Neal again next time, he would head directly to the free throw line.

However, Doug Collins wasn’t too disappointed since his goal was to reduce O’Neal’s playing time. The regret was not witnessing O’Neal’s notorious free throw misses before he got subbed out.

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