Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

The game after the timeout.

Harris's checking and filling of deficiencies worked. Pierce was targeted very fiercely by Rodman. It's not that Barkley couldn't do this, but the price of fierce defense is accompanied by an increase in the number of fouls. Harris didn't want to waste Barkley's time. foul.

In this case, the Celtics' offensive end was indeed handed over to O'Neal.

It's just that at this point, Li Shengli could only watch Ben forcefully, because Garnett couldn't let go, the threat was too great, and Ben defended O'Neal... It did have the effect Harris expected, when O'Neal hit the basket When I got off the bed, I carried him out.

On the free throw line in the first half, O'Neal made 0 of 2 shots.

This is the most fundamental reason why Harris is unwilling to change the defensive lineup, and in the 7th minute of the first quarter... O'Neal went to the free throw line again, and this time it was better, shooting 1 of 2, and a total of 1 of 4.

The mood of both parties will be different at this time.

The Celtics felt a collective angina. Even though no one of the more than 20,000 fans dared to speak when O'Neal took the free throw, the goal that should have been missed still didn't go in. And everyone knows that this kind of free throw basically means... O'Neal will The whole game is thin, and according to the usual practice, the best performance is not more than half of the hits.

As for the Lakers, they are much happier...

You are so arrogant, so what if you can play? If you are on the free throw line, can you still be a big-faced person? !

Li Shengli was also amused. After grabbing the rebound, he threw it to Eddie and the others to advance. As he ran forward, he patted O'Neal's big butt. O'Neal's face darkened, and Garnett followed suit.

"Shaq, don't wait, we can't wait!"

"Okay, got it, set up defenses!"

…

The Lakers offense started.

This time, Eddie took the shot under the cover of Rodman, and Pierce accidentally blocked the shot in front of Eddie. If he couldn't block it, he opened his palm to cover Eddie's face, which made Eddie furious. Like a cow.

Bang!

The rebound collapsed to the right corner and was collected by Celtics point guard Burrows.

The court suddenly changed sides, and it was the Celtics' attack again. This time, O'Neal didn't make a mid-range shot at all. He worked hard all the way and squeezed into the penalty area. He was in the right position and was about to dunk in the air, but was directly hit by the ball. Ben hugged him down.

"Brother, go and shoot the free throw!" Ben smiled, waiting for O'Neal's wonderful free throw performance.

"Damn it, you boy, wait for me!" O'Neal was filled with blood and walked to the free throw line. At this moment, the Garden Arena once again fell into a state of widespread silence, secretly cheering O'Neal on.

joke?

Although the Lakers did not implement the most rogue "off-ball foul" tactic, the big man was stuck under the basket, forcing O'Neal to make mid-range shots and foul when he entered the basket and wanted to dunk. The effect was even better than the former.

If we really continue to play like this, if O'Neal's free throws cannot improve, then the game will basically be blind, so no matter what... when the Lakers play like this, O'Neal's free throws are the most important factor affecting the outcome.

Did the tactic work?

Li Shengli stood on the right side and looked at O'Neal on the free throw line. His heart suddenly jumped because O'Neal's free throw posture was not much different from everyone else's, but this time... this bastard actually had his left hand on his waist and his right hand. Lift the ball and aim with one hand?

"Fuck, what is he doing?"

"Is this... giving up the game?"

"Or is his left hand or arm injured somewhere?"

"Damn it, Shaq, are you crazy?"

Big Ben and others couldn't understand O'Neal's weirdness, and Li Shengli was no longer calm.

Because one-handed free throws are really bad. Without the adjustment and assistance of the other hand, just throwing with one hand...it doesn't look very smart no matter how you look at it.

But O'Neill didn't think so.

Is this posture ugly?

But what's the use of being beautiful!

Didn't you, Li Shengli, also use old Barry's free throw posture?

I just want to score now. What I want is the championship. What I want is the ring. Get out of my way!

Aim and shoot!

O'Neal's one-handed free throw. Although the first free throw was bumpy, it still fell into the basket, which gave O'Neal confidence. The second free throw... also bumped and fell into the basket. The total free throw became Got 3 out of 6.

Damn it, is this okay?

Li Shengli originally thought that O'Neal was here to make a joke, but he stopped thinking so after making two free throws, because regardless of all considerations, the posture that can score is fine, so there is no need to laugh at Barry's urine pot. After all, so far, Barry's 90% free throw shooting ranks first in history.

…

So happy, so happy!

After playing in the entire playoffs until now, O'Neal is fully aware of the ill will towards him throughout the league.

When he was playing with the Heat, O'Neal suddenly became diligent and practiced free throws, which shocked the Celtics. Although the free throws in the regular posture were still poor, after finding a new way... after trying various weird free throw postures. , O'Neal finally chose this one-handed free throw.

The choice is simple.

As long as the sample size of fixed-point free throws is large enough, the comprehensive hits of each free throw posture can be counted. After selecting the best among the best, you will focus on one posture and practice hard, and then adjust the force during practice.

Free throws with all kinds of weird postures can't possibly be worse than before, right? !

Choose the big one among the short guys. During the Eastern Conference Finals, all of O'Neal's training subjects were this weird one-handed free throw. Others had no choice but to choose this posture after being injured, but O'Neal took the initiative.

Li Shengli didn't know what O'Neal or even the Celtics coaching staff thought.

However, from the perspective of results, although one-handed free throws do not look very smart, it is still OK to make both free throws. However, Li Shengli does not know how much this hit will be after magnification, and currently making two free throws cannot be used as a result. The basis for the Lakers to consider tactics.

Li Shengli thought so, and Harris thought the same way.

So in the first quarter, we still played according to the old tactics, and bad news appeared again... As soon as Eddie came on the court, his hands were horribly cold, and he hit 0 for 3, which made it difficult for Harris to make a decision.

The touch needs to be improved, and continuing to replace players is a waste of time.

What's more important is that three shots are not too many. Harris gritted his teeth and let the game continue.

…

Things haven't gotten much worse for the Lakers.

Because they lost by 4 points in the first half, the game was almost even in the second half, and they lost by 5 points in the first quarter. However, the originally planned tactics were carried out, allowing O'Neal to make 8 free throws in a single quarter.

After making two free throws with one hand, he went 3 for 6.

The last time O'Neal happened was 9 minutes into the game. In the same posture, he made 1 of 2, and a total of 4 of 8. And 50% of the free throws were enough for Harris to take risks, suppressing other voices and continuing to target in the second quarter. O'Neill.

…

O'Neal was fouled 4 times in the first quarter, with Ben only fouling 2 and Li Shengli and Rodman each fouling one.

As for the second quarter...the Celtics, who were forced to have no choice, could only let O'Neal hit hard. They considered that O'Neal's first four free throws were made with one hand in a regular posture, while the next four were made with one hand. Got 3.

Taking 50% as the calculation is wrong.

This should be considered 75% on the spot!

So Pitino, as the coach, immediately asked O'Neal to take action. In this quarter, the Lakers put O'Neal on the free throw line 4 times, plus an extra penalty. In total, O'Neal made 9 free throws... and shot a truly passing 66.66%. 6 out of 9.

This efficiency is impressive enough and will not hinder the Celtics as a whole at all.

But for the Lakers, before the offense even started, their opponent had already improved their efficiency. After losing by 5 points in the first quarter, they lost by 6 points in the second quarter and 11 points in the first half. .