Bishop of the Devil

Against the Lakers, the Blazers' center should actually be Ben, while O'Brien plays the power forward position.

Mainly because O'Neal's strength is too far behind O'Neal, and in terms of tonnage, it's not much better than O'Neal...

If he plays center, if nothing else, he won't be able to stand under the basket against O'Neal!

If you can't stand under the basket, you will be in the same situation as the rookie Yao Ming...

Being squeezed out of the penalty area by O'Neal, he was unable to pose a threat at the basket. Once outside the penalty area, no matter how soft Yao Ming's touch was, his shooting rate would definitely drop significantly.

To be fair, Yao Ming was really bullied by O'Neal during his rookie season.

In the 2002-03 season, Yao Ming and O'Neal only played two games. In the first game, Yao Ming made 5 of 14 shots. In the second game, it was even worse, with 3 of 13 shots...

The reason is that Yao Ming was unable to withstand O'Neal's impact in the penalty area and was squeezed out of the penalty area by O'Neal. Even if there was a chance to take a shot, it was not a chance to make a shot under the basket.

In Yao Ming's second season, although he was still at a disadvantage against O'Neal, as his weight increased, he was able to get some close-range shots from the basket.

Going forward, Yao Ming has gradually gotten rid of his skinny figure and has become a super heavyweight inside. He can already compete with O'Neal on a par with O'Neal!

This is the real thing, not because Yao Ming is Chinese and is partial to him.

Data speaks for itself!

The two have played a total of 18 games in their careers. Yao Ming won eight games and O'Neal won 10 games. The winning rates are not much different.

In terms of statistics, Yao Ming averaged 15 shots per game, shooting 47% from the field in exchange for 17.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2 assists.

O'Neal also averaged 15 shots per game, shooting 54.4% from the field in exchange for 21.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists...

It seems that the two men have the same number of shots, and O'Neal is better in terms of statistics, but if you consider the free throws of both sides, O'Neal is not necessarily better than Yao Ming.

In 18 games, Yao Ming averaged only 4.1 free throws per game, but he scored 3.5 points with this number of free throws.

As for O'Neal, he took 9.5 free throws and only made 4.7!

Although free throws are not counted in the number of shots, they are also counted in the possession of the ball...

Calculate the true shooting percentage of these two people, the total score / (2 × (the number of shots in the game + 0.44 × the number of free throw attempts)), in fact, the true shooting percentage of these two people is almost the same!

…

Some fans may be dissatisfied with this. After all, when Yao Ming reached his peak, O'Neal was already in his twilight years...

But when O'Neal was at his peak, Yao Ming was still a rookie, and most of the matches between the two took place when O'Neal was at his peak.

Among the 18 games, only the last three games during O'Neal's time with the Suns can be regarded as the true end of O'Neal's career.

From this, we can see that Yao Ming's dominance is not as good as O'Neal, but if he can stay healthy, the achievements he can achieve are really unimaginable.

…

But Yao Ming has an unsolvable problem.

Yao Ming, who does not gain weight, cannot stand in the paint and can be easily squeezed out of the penalty area by big guys. The best example is Schmitz, who served as Yao Ming's template during the draft!

In terms of soft touch, Schmitz, who is known as Europe's insider hope together with Lao Sa, is not inferior to Yao Ming...

In terms of height, Schmitz's height of 224 centimeters is not shorter than Yao Ming!

In terms of athletic ability, Schmitz cannot be worse than Yao Ming...

But because of his poor tonnage, his career achievements are obviously far inferior to Yao Ming. The only thing he is worse than Yao Ming is that he has not gained weight, his health is much better than Yao Ming, and his attendance rate in the league is quite high. Twelve years!

Even in the last season of his career, he can play 79 games. In fact, if he wants to continue to stay in the league, he can play for a few more years...

The guarantee can last for fifteen years!

And if Yao Ming follows Schmitz's example and does not gain weight, his career will definitely be extended. Not to mention playing for fifteen years like Schmitz, but twelve years is still quite possible.

But now the question arises, can Yao Ming still have that kind of dominance without gaining weight? !

Basically it is unlikely, then Yao Ming may really become the second Schmitz...

Schmitz is not weak at all. In his peak season, he scored 18+7.7 points. As the Pacers' leading insider, he is actually quite impressive.

His career averages of 14.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game are not bad...

But if Yao Ming only performs at this level in the league, the Chinese people will definitely not be satisfied, because there is really no way to brag about it.

Yao Ming's problem now is that gaining weight will affect his career longevity. If he doesn't gain weight, he won't be able to achieve the same dominance as after gaining weight.

Now with the emergence of Richard, a time traveler, Yao Ming no longer has this problem. He can show off his body and gain weight without any scruples!

Of course, this weight gain does not mean that he is so fat that he can’t even touch the basket like Kemp...

While maintaining a certain degree of flexibility and athletic ability, gain weight scientifically!

…

In today's league, if you pull out any fan and ask him which position of player Richard likes the most, I'm afraid they will all say without hesitation that Richard likes the inside player the most!

Because Richard let go of the double MVP Kobe before, but kept O'Neill!

Richard really likes inside players. In his opinion, having a strong inside player in the team will make him feel more at ease...

As Yao Ming is a super center that will rank among the top three in the next ten years, Richard is definitely bound to win!

He really wants to see how terrifying Yao Ming can grow to with his help!

Especially now that Da Zhi has risen. Can Yao Ming and Da Zhi join hands to win medals for Chinese basketball in world events? !

…

The game on the field continues!

Zen Master Jackson's face was a little ugly, because the situation on the field did not develop in the direction he imagined!

In fact, he really doesn't pay much attention to the Trail Blazers. It's not that he thinks highly of himself, but he feels that there is a huge gap between the starting lineups of the two sides.

If it were the Trail Blazers last season, even Zen Master would find it extremely terrifying!

But this season's Trail Blazers? Zen Master feels that although he is still very strong, he will definitely not be the opponent of the Lakers...

The Trail Blazers have retained two of their insiders, which means that their inside level is still at the top of the league, but the Lakers are not a vegetarian. With O'Neal on their team, they are certainly not afraid of the Trail Blazers' insiders.

As for the outside lineup, Jackson feels that the Lakers can completely defeat the Trail Blazers!

The Trail Blazers' perimeter lineup last season was really strong. Kobe, Rasheed and Robinson, two top-paid stars, took out Robinson, a quasi-All-Star player with a very high cost performance...

And what about this season? Rasheed and Kobe, the two top-paid players, are gone, leaving only Robinson.

Robinson brought a bunch of new guys outside to beat Zen Master to death. He didn't believe that the Trail Blazers' perimeter would be the Lakers' opponent!

Take a look at the Lakers' outside lineup, double MVP Kobe Bryant, All-Star MVP Glenn Rice, and triple crown point guard Harper!

No matter how you look at it, it is several levels better than the Trail Blazers' perimeter lineup...

But after the game, Master Zen suddenly discovered that their outside lineup did not have much advantage!

Ginobili in the backcourt did a pretty good job of defending Harper...

The Triple Crown point guard hasn't had a single shot from the start to now. Ginobili's mad-dog-like defense has prevented Harper from finding an open opportunity to catch the ball!

Not only was the offensive end ineffective, but Harper's defensive end also looked pretty bad.

Ginobili's scalpel-like sharp breakthrough, Harper simply couldn't defend him alone, and needed AC Green to make up the defense!

But once AC Green started to defend, Ginobili's scalpel-like pass immediately gave his teammates an opportunity to take action!

The Zen master was a little confused, how the hell did Richard find such a super newcomer!

The new Argentine player left a deep impression on Zen Master. He thought about it in his mind. It seemed that after so many years of coaching, the last time he saw such an all-around offensive and defensive defender was named Michael Jordan!

It's a coincidence that Ginobili actually had a nickname related to Jordan, and later generations of Demon Blades had the nickname "20 Minute Jordan"...

…

Harper's point was completely blown away by a newcomer, and Zen Master would definitely not be able to accept it.

What makes him even more unacceptable is that Glenn Rice didn't have any advantage against Robinson...

When Kobe faced Artest, it was quite uncomfortable to break through, and he mostly settled the battle with mid-range shots.

Anyway, the Lakers currently have no advantage at all on the outside, and may even have a slight disadvantage.

Mainly because Harper was too weak and was completely defeated by Ginobili.

If Yao Dao had a ten-point advantage against Harper, then even though Kobe had an advantage against Artest, it was only seven or eight points.

As for Robinson and Glen Rice, the situation is 50-50.

This makes Master Zen very uncomfortable. The super lineup he has built has never beaten Richard. It is simply intolerable!

…

"Dududu!" When the first quarter of the game reached nine minutes, Master Zen called a timeout.

Although the Lakers are behind, the points difference behind is still acceptable, with only a four-point difference.

But from the Zen master's point of view, it is definitely unacceptable...

Their lineup is like a galactic battleship, and it can't be justified if they have never played against the Trail Blazers.

"Kobe, use the pick-and-roll more often!"

"You have been with the Trail Blazers for three years. You should know very well that if you rely solely on CIC, you will not be able to kill the Trail Blazers!"

The Zen master said to Kobe...

Kobe nodded. At any other point in time, if the Zen master was telling Kobe this way, it would be strange for Kobe to ignore him.

Do I need to use the pick-and-roll? ! Are you kidding...

But now Kobe also knows very well that if he does not improve his offensive efficiency, they may lose to the Trail Blazers at their home court in this game!

He still wants to prove himself in front of Richard, and also wants to make Richard regret the decision he made!

So this game must not be lost!

"Okay!" Kobe nodded solemnly...

…

"Ben, let's take a rest. There are only three minutes left in this quarter!" Richard was going to take Ben off the field first. Although he only played nine minutes in the first quarter, his physical exertion was quite astonishing. .

"Coach, what about Shaq? They will definitely let Shaq stay on the court!" Ben asked in confusion.

He can guarantee that as long as he gets off the court, O'Neal will turn into an unstoppable monster under the basket and wreak havoc on the Blazers' basket!

Richard smiled evilly and waved his hand, signaling to Ben not to worry.

"Rashad, get ready to go on the court. On the offensive end, pull out and shoot three-pointers. On the defensive end, send Shaq to the free throw line..."

The Blazers have already exhausted their foul count in the first quarter, so now is the best time to cut the shark!

Letting Lewis appear on the stage, to put it harshly, Richard regarded Lewis as cannon fodder for slashing sharks...

There is no way, the weakest player in the entire Trail Blazers team is Lewis. If he doesn't become cannon fodder, who will...

Upon hearing Richard's words, Da Ben suddenly laughed evilly.

Because he was so bad at free throws before, his scalp went numb when he heard about the shark-killing tactic, but now he is better. His free-throw skills suddenly improved a lot for some reason. He is no longer afraid of the shark-killing tactic, and even misses it very much. Last season’s Western Conference Finals!

You must know that in last season's Western Conference Finals, Ben averaged about 20 points and 15 rebounds per game!

…

The short pause ended and the players from both sides returned to the court.

What Lakers fans never expected was that Richard actually sent Lewis, who had no presence in their team at all!

Lewis and Harrington were air brothers before, but as Harrington has gained a lot of limelight recently, Lewis has become an air solo group...

Now Richard puts the airy Lewis on the field, and the purpose is self-evident!

This guy is ready to kill a shark...

Even the fans can see things that Zen Master can't possibly not see!

…

It was the Lakers' offensive round as soon as they came on the court. As a result, Lewis immediately sent O'Neal to the free throw line without saying a word.

Kobe had just found the pick-and-roll and was preparing to take a three-point shot from the outside when he heard the referee blow...

One of two free throws, O'Neal's normal level!

…

Richard doesn't expect O'Neal's free throws to be abnormal. As long as he doesn't perform beyond his normal capabilities, the shark-cutting tactic will be considered profitable...

…

It was the Blazers' turn to attack. Ginobili passed the ball to Lewis who was running, and the latter directly hit a three-pointer!

Turning around, it was the Lakers' turn to attack, and Lewis sent O'Neal to the free throw line immediately.

This time O'Neal was even more miserable, and he actually missed two free throws!

This made O'Neal a little anxious, and he glanced viciously at Richard, who was smiling slightly on the sidelines.

I wish I could rush over and tear Richard into pieces right now...

He doesn't know why there are such shameless people in the world!

Previously, the Trail Blazers were far inferior to the Lakers. Richard used the shark-cutting tactic against himself, so O'Neal could accept it!

But now the Trail Blazers have completely risen and are fully capable of fighting against the Lakers. Under such circumstances, Richard is not ready to let himself go!

It's so shameless...

…

Kobe was even more angry. He had found pick-and-rolls twice in a row and was ready to take action!

As a result, before he could take action, O'Neal was sent to the free throw line by the opponent!

In two offensive rounds, the Lakers only scored one point...

Kobe's paranoid temperament of winning, it's strange to be happy at this moment!

He glared at O'Neal fiercely. Even now, he still can't figure out why a professional player's free throws can be so bad...

Can't Shaq practice those damn free throws?

When O'Neal saw Kobe glaring at him coldly, he immediately stared back...

These two people are really poisonous. When they are good, they can wear a pair of pants, but when they fall out, they want to strangle each other to death.

…

The Blazers counterattacked again. This time it was Ginobili himself who took advantage of Robinson's pick-and-roll and then hit a long mid-range shot.

Although the Trail Blazers don't like to take mid-range shots, it is impossible to play a game without even one mid-range shot.

Sometimes there is a perfect mid-range shot opportunity, and the players on the field cannot miss it.

…

Jackson had no choice but to replace O'Neal in the next dead ball session.

The shark-cutting tactic is really disgusting, and it just allows O'Neal to take a good rest. After all, there are still three quarters to play in this game!

When Richard saw this, he quickly replaced Xiao Ao!

As a head coach, one ability is essential, and that is to know the right time for players to appear.

Now that O'Neal is off the court, not only O'Neal, but also O'Neal on the court is meaningless. Although he can lead the team to some advantages, it is not worth the gain.

In the opening period of the second quarter, because the Trail Blazers did not commit enough fouls and could not use free throw tactics, O'Neal still had to appear on the court at the same time as Ben to fight against O'Neal...

If Xiao Ao is kept on the court in the first quarter of the game, it will be a considerable test for his physical fitness.

…

Both O'Brien and Lewis were taken off the court, and Richard was replaced by Kirilenko and Nowitzki.

The Lakers also changed their lineup. Harper and O'Neal came off the court and were replaced by Fisher and Fox.

As a result, it can be said that both sides have no serious inside players on the court.

The Trail Blazers have Kirilenko, while the Lakers only have AC Green. The Trail Blazers must have an advantage.

Besides, the old driver still has some rebounding ability. Although his offensive rebounding level is a bit poor, his defensive rebounding is still pretty good...

…

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led by 8 points!

This is already a quite terrifying point difference, and it is already so big that the Lakers absolutely cannot accept it!

…

Richard was happy. It seemed that the Lakers he had been worried about were not so incomprehensible!

At least there are ways to deal with it. As long as O'Neal doesn't perform exceptionally well in free throws, this shortcoming will definitely be inevitable for them!

…

The next three quarters of the game were easier to handle. Richard repeated his old tricks, basically replicating the style of play in the first quarter.

At the beginning of a single quarter, the Auburn combination is put on first. After a few minutes, the team runs out of fouls. Richard immediately replaces one of Big Ben or O'Brien, and then uses the shark-cutting tactic to send the shark away. Get to the free throw line!

The Lakers were wailing, and the Zen Master's face had turned red with anger!

In desperation, the Zen master had no choice but to replace O'Neal!

In this second quarter, O'Neal only played seven minutes...

By the end of the first half, the point difference between the two sides had reached a terrifying sixteen points. If this situation continues, the Lakers will face a big defeat at their home court tonight!

…

After the start of the second half, O'Neal's free throw touch suddenly improved a lot. In this case, Richard naturally gave up the shark-cutting tactic.

If you feel good, let it go first and wait until the next game!

Seeing that Richard did not use the shark-cutting tactic against him, O'Neal cherished this opportunity to play at his own risk and led the team to recover a lot of points.

By the time the third quarter ended, the difference between the two sides was still 10 points!

Recovering a six-point deficit in a single quarter, we can also see how terrifying it is for the Lakers who were forced into a desperate situation to explode!

This actually gave some hope to the Lakers fans at the scene. The Lakers still have hope of winning!

Of course, the premise is that O'Neal's free throws in the fourth quarter can stabilize the third quarter!

But they obviously thought too much. How easy was it to stabilize O'Neal's free throws...

Seeing O'Neal's free throws starting to trick him again in the fourth quarter, Richard immediately resorted to the shark-killing tactic again!

It directly cut O'Neal into self-isolation. After he was replaced by Zen Master, he directly covered his head with a towel, not wanting to watch the situation on the court at all...

He knew very well that if he could not play, the Lakers would basically lose!

…

"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle to end the game!

109:94, the Trail Blazers won a grand victory at Staples Arena!

This victory directly reassured those fans who were worried about whether the Blazers could defend their title. The Blazers are still the unbeatable Blazers!

Even if the Lakers come up with a Galaxy Battleship-like lineup this season, they will still suffer under the hands of the Trail Blazers!

…

The shark-cutting tactic played a huge role in this game. Without the shark-cutting tactic, even Richard didn't know whether he could kill the Lakers!

…

As soon as the game ended, Kobe directly handed the towel that the staff handed him and threw it to the floor.

Then he went straight back to the locker room angrily...

He is really mad now!

If losing by three to five points allowed the Trail Blazers to narrowly win, then Kobe would actually be able to accept it, but now it was better, losing by fifteen points, which made Kobe quite desperate!

How else could he prove himself in front of Richard? !

How could Richard regret it...

I'm afraid that the devil is having fun now. I'm glad I didn't renew my contract!

The more Kobe thought about it, the angrier he became. He didn't even participate in the handshake and greeting session between the two parties after the game, and ran back to the locker room.

"Coach, it looks like Kobe is very angry..." Ben said to Richard with a grin.

Richard couldn't hold back his laughter. This game probably really made Kobe very angry.

It's not that the Lakers are not strong enough, it's that their shortcomings were caught by Richard and they focused on them without giving the Lakers a chance to breathe!

However, Richard was actually worried. If he used the shark-cutting tactics so unscrupulously, would the rules restricting shark-cutting be introduced in advance? !

It seems that this possibility is still quite high...