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Chapter 75: The No. 1.3 Center with No Temper ( words updated, please subscribe!)

Oracle Arena.

Before the game, O'Neal, who thought he had calmed the public opinion storm, wanted to resolve the misunderstanding caused by the media by taking the initiative to show goodwill.

In O'Neal's view, as long as he takes the initiative to extend an olive branch to the other party, he will definitely gain forgiveness even though he has no deep hatred towards the other party.

Then, all he needs to do is praise the other party a few more words, and this farce instigated by the media will turn into a happy story of veterans promoting newcomers, in which everyone is happy.

Throughout his career, even after retirement
Turning enemies into friends is exactly what O'Neal is best at.

Of course, except for those who must be suppressed.

For example, after winning three consecutive championships with Kobe, O'Neal immediately expressed through the media his dissatisfaction with Duncan taking away his regular season MVP trophy, "Do you see this trophy in my hand? In the NBA, the truly important trophy is this one."

Even many years later, when the NBA decided to use the campus plan to determine the NBA champion for the 19/20 season, O'Neal still did not forget to complain: "I do not support the NBA rematch and using the campus to determine the champion. I do not recognize such a championship.

Just like San Antonio only has four championships because they have one with an asterisk, and that asterisk doesn’t count.”

As we all know, Duncan's first championship trophy in his career came in the 98/99 season, which happened to be a shortened season due to a lockout.
Therefore, when opposing the campus plan, it was fake that O'Neal looked down on the campus championship, but the real intention was to continue to suppress his old rival Duncan.

However, in the future, when O'Neal makes these remarks to mock Duncan,
He clearly didn’t take into account the emotions of a certain “GOAT.”

Just like now
Since he never considered Qin Yue’s emotions, why should Qin Yue accept his initiative to show goodwill?

"Usually I only greet the opponent's second-in-command and other players after the game."

On the court, when O'Neal took the initiative to walk to the Warriors' half to show his goodwill, Qin Yue just skipped over him and exchanged a few words with Wade.

Qin Yue never liked that the other party recognized himself only because of his emotional intelligence.

Because even when LeBron James first showed his goodwill to him, Qin Yue, who was busy cleaning up college basketball at the time, ignored him.

That’s right, treating everyone equally is Qin Yue’s way of dealing with people.

At this moment, O'Neal, who was listed as "the second in command of the Heat and other players" by Qin Yue, suddenly felt a nameless anger in his heart.

"Kids nowadays are becoming more and more rude."

On the court, after being snubbed by Qin Yue, O'Neal retreated to his own half with a look of resentment on his face.

It is no exaggeration to say that at that moment, O'Neal really had the urge to tear down the entire Oracle Arena.

But in the end he chose to swallow his anger.

Because even if he wanted to refute Qin Yue, where would he get the courage and confidence at this moment?
In front of the media, he can continue to pretend that he is Wade's close older brother, but with his average number of shots of less than 14 per game, does he dare to say that he is the boss of this Heat team?
Therefore, no matter how angry he was, O'Neal had to hold it in.

You know, the Heat are not the Lakers.

Pat Riley is not Phil Jackson.

No matter how harsh Qin Yue's words were, the strict Riley would not agree to change the Heat's original pre-match strategy just to let O'Neal vent his anger.

In the center of the venue, after warming up, the big screen immediately showed the starting lineups of the two teams.

Heat: O'Neal, Haslem, Posey, Wade, Williams.

Warriors: Qin Yue, Murphy, Artest, Richardson, Davis.

Tonight, the Warriors sent out a completely different starting lineup than in the past.

In this regard, Riley frowned before the game started and said: "Are they trying to create more mismatches at the beginning of the game?"

Riley got it right.

In this game, the Warriors started Murphy in order to create an opportunity for Qin Yue to challenge O'Neal.

At the same time, Qin Yue also wanted to tear off the hypocritical mask of the league's top center on O'Neal's face with his own hands.

In fact, since the 05/06 season, O'Neal has not been worthy of being called the league's top center in Qin Yue's eyes.

He should be called the worst center in history.

Because historically, he played only 05 games for the Heat in the 06/59 season, averaging only "20+9" per game. He stole the honor of first-team center that should have belonged to Ben Wallace entirely based on the impression he left on people in the past.

Although in many people's minds, Ben Wallace is far from meeting the standards of a first-team center.

But does O'Neal's performance in the 05/06 season make him worthy of it?

In Qin Yue's opinion, if Yao Ming, who has better personal statistics than O'Neal and almost the same number of appearances, is only worthy of being the third-team center of the season, then the league should give the first-team center position to Ben Wallace, who has a better team record and a higher attendance rate.

During the jump ball, the still angry O'Neal immediately felt the difference between Qin Yue and Yao Ming.

Because Yao Ming is not as tough as Qin Yue when jumping the ball.

On the court, the Warriors have the ball.

After Davis dribbled across half court, the Warriors took up a 2-3 formation.

Then, Murphy quickly moved up to a high position to serve as a wall for Qin Yue who went around the top arc to receive the ball.

Seeing this, O'Neill immediately cried out in his heart, "Oh no!"

Because all five Warriors starters tonight are capable of shooting, he naturally expanded his defense from the three-second zone to the free throw line at this moment.

At the same time, seeing the Heat trying to protect O'Neal through double team defense, Qin Yue became even more furious.

Because who was it that said back then that the double team defense would ruin the NBA?

That person can't be O'Neal himself, right?
In Qin Yue's memory, when the NBA first introduced the zone defense, O'Neal criticized the zone defense more than once as a stupid rule.

But at this moment.
Looking at O'Neal who was hiding in the double team defense of the other four Heat players with a clear conscience.
Qin Yue simply couldn't tell from his expression how much he hated the zone defense rule.

Rather than hating it, it would be more accurate to say that O'Neal really enjoyed the protection that the double team defense brought him.

But what about zone defense?

On the court, Qin Yue dribbled the ball to the free throw line, and when he was about to pass the ball to Artest, he suddenly turned around and accelerated.

At this moment, O'Neal, who liked to be lazy when defending, had no time to react.

The next second.
Without giving Haslem a chance to assist in defense, Qin Yue rushed into the Heat's heartland, stood up directly, glided in the air for a distance, and then slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!

This gliding slam dunk instantly ignited the entire stadium.

On the sidelines, little Dunleavy, who noticed that Qin Yue was very angry tonight, made a bold guess: "It seems that he still hasn't gotten over the Christmas game."

Hearing this, Brown, who was on the bench tonight, asked curiously, "Mike, what do you mean?"

Little Dunleavy sighed and said, "Don't you realize that our Messiah has been holding back his anger ever since the Christmas War?"

Brown mused, "Is it because his good friend could have racked up stats in garbage time and he didn't?"

Dunleavy rolled his eyes at Brown and said, "What Messiah cares about is probably not the process of the game, but the aftermath."

Brown was puzzled and asked, "What happened after the game?"

"After that game, he was obviously upset because he couldn't be honest in the interview," Dunleavy Jr. explained.

Brown suddenly realized: "No wonder he has been angry with me lately."

Dunleavy Jr. nodded and said, “Although our Messiah never kicks people when they are down after a game, he doesn’t like being constrained even more.

I think he felt more uncomfortable than anyone else that day because of various reasons and he was forced to restrain himself.

Who would have thought that Shaquille O'Neal would run into him?"

Seeing this, Brown turned his gaze to the court and said, "Mike, do you think we need to observe a moment of silence for Shaquille O'Neal?"

A moment of silence?

You don't have to.

Admittedly, because of his bad mood, and since January of the new year, Qin Yue has been turning on the energy-saving mode.

So, in a sense, he really needs a game to release himself.

but.
O'Neal definitely deserved to die tonight.

On the court, back over, the Heat have the ball.

Looking directly at O'Neal, who thought he was not worthy of Jovan Buha's evaluation, Qin Yue yelled at his teammates: "Keep an eye on 'D-wade', don't worry about the others."

Anxious.

At this moment, O'Neal was really anxious. Because no matter how much he wanted to restrain himself, he could not allow a rookie to provoke him again and again.

even if
Every word Qin Yue said tonight was true.

On the side, Wade also noticed O'Neal who took the initiative to fall into the low post.

Although according to Riley's arrangement before the game, O'Neal should take the initiative to pull up to the high position to set up a wall for Wade, and let Wade use his speed to create chaos in the Warriors' defense inside, but
On the court, Wade chose to pass the ball to O'Neal.

In the low post, after getting the ball, O'Neal immediately launched an attack towards Qin Yue.

However, the scene of mountains and rivers collapsing in his imagination did not happen, because where did he get the courage that he had in the past?
At this moment, he is just a top center who has to be forced onto a treadmill and whipped with a whip by Riley before he can lose weight during the regular season.

An old king who lives in fantasy all day long and thinks he is still able to move mountains, but is actually already very old. It takes Wade's desperate breakthroughs and superstar whistles to barely bring him back to the supreme throne.

Yes, in history, wasn’t the 05/06 season finals also a time when Wade, the lone hero, saved the day alone?
In the final match against the Dallas Mavericks, in Game 2, when Wade rushed to the Mavericks again and again without hesitation, what did O'Neal, the King, respond to Wade? His single-digit score in the finals!
In the penalty area, facing O'Neal's tough back-to-the-basket attack, the Warriors didn't even need Qin Yue, the team leader, to commit a foul.

Because when O'Neal dragged his increasingly slow steps to complete the turn, Murphy had already returned to defense and successfully pulled him down.

On the court, after noticing O'Neal glaring at Murphy, Qin Yue stepped forward and stood between O'Neal and Murphy, saying, "If you have the ability, make the free throw. If you can't make it, you have to admit that you are a waste."

Hearing this and looking at Qin Yue, for a moment, O'Neal really wanted to punch him.

But as all the gang members on the Warriors bench stood up, and Artest and Richardson stood behind Qin Yue one after another, O'Neal immediately and consciously went to the free throw line.

When——!
When——!
Then, as expected, O'Neal missed both free throws because he failed to calm down.

On the sidelines, Riley, who never indulged O'Neal at such times, immediately turned into a farmer.

He swung the whip in his hand and yelled at O'Neal: "Damn it! Get the hell out of here and set a high screen!
I have to tell you a hundred times that their interior defense efficiency this season is amazing! "

Before the game, Riley carefully studied the Warriors' game videos this season. He knew very well that compared to this frontal low-post attack, the Heat could only break through the Warriors' defense by relying on Wade to disrupt the Warriors' inside defense.

Moreover, since taking over the team midway this season, Riley has already determined Wade's absolute core position.

Therefore, even the once mighty O'Neal had to serve as a pick-and-roll tool for Wade in the game.

On the court, upon hearing this, O'Neal's face suddenly turned ugly.

Because as the former face of the NBA
When he was playing for the Lakers, when did Phil Jackson ever let him suffer this kind of humiliation?
However, Riley doesn't care about that.

On the court, after noticing O'Neal's still lazy defensive attitude, Riley continued to yell: "Damn lazy bastard! Can't you just move?"

Seeing this, O'Neal wanted to retort that Riley didn't understand the essence of defense at all.

But the next second, Qin Yue, who successfully broke the Heat's double-team defense with his teammates, broke into the hinterland with the ball and made a layup.

At this moment, O'Neal was embarrassed.

It was because he did not press forward in time that Qin Yue seized the only gap in the Heat's double-team defense.

What made O'Neal uncomfortable was that Qin Yue and Riley seemed like a natural pair at the moment.
After scoring the goal, the former complained to himself: "With this kind of defense, it's no wonder that 'Dream' could get whatever he wanted on the court."

The latter yelled at him, "Run, you damn lazy bastard!"

Tonight, Qin Yue would never have any respect for O'Neill, the old but shameless king who even tried to continue to whitewash the truth in public.

What's more, he was the one who disrespected himself first?
On the court, the Heat attack.

O'Neal, who had honestly pulled up to the high position to form a wall for Wade, wanted to try to go down
But who would have thought that Qin Yue had already blocked his way down the path he had to take?
Qin Yue had watched the finals between the Heat and the Mavericks in history. He knew very well that even Dampier and Diop could effectively limit O'Neal's run after the pick-and-roll.

So if he can't even stop O'Neal from running the pick-and-roll, then why is he playing basketball? How can he make a name for himself in the NBA?

This is Shaquille O'Neal in the 05/06 season after the marketing packaging is torn off.

In addition to the past glory he always talked about and the past statistics he would repeatedly mention in front of the media.
This number one center has long lost his glory.

On the court, if the Heat want to open up the situation, they still have to rely on "Cheek Man" Wade.

At the Oracle Arena, at the moment Wade rushed forward, even Qin Yue couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

No wonder Wade is the number one player in the Heat's history in Pat Riley's mind.

Because at this moment his starting speed and advancement speed are the best in the league, even if you know he is going to break through, you will definitely not be able to stop him.

Bang, whoosh——!
At the basket, Wade made a layup and successfully scored the first two points for the Heat tonight.

Coming back, the Warriors have the ball.

Facing the Warriors' unstoppable double-inside pick-and-roll, the intolerable Riley turned around and called out to Mourning, "Go and replace that damn lazy guy. Damn it, we were clearly playing zone defense tonight, how come the Warriors turned it into man-to-man defense?"

Upon hearing this, Mourning, knowing that Riley was already angry, did not dare to delay and immediately trotted to the technical desk.

And about this.
Qin Yue was extremely disappointed.

Because Qin Yue never expected that O'Neal, the old king, couldn't even withstand three rounds in front of him.

At the top of the arc, seeing that O'Neal was still not active in defending the pick-and-roll, Qin Yue simply dribbled back after the pick-and-roll with Murphy and sent off the top center with a three-pointer.

"That's why I say you can't win a championship without Kobe Bryant.

Because Kobe Bryant is the Michael Jordan of Los Angeles, and you are just a big Scottie Pippen who talks big and proves you are great by putting other players down!"

At this moment, looking at O'Neal, Qin Yue commented sharply.

Since O'Neal had given him sharp comments before, Qin Yue must give him sharp comments in return.

However, what followed was even more disappointing than disappointment.
The old king did not even show himself a bit of blood that night.

Oracle Arena, after Artest's foul
Dead ball substitution, Mourning comes on and O'Neal comes off.

Qin Yue noticed that when O'Neal was substituted off the court, his back could only be described as lonely and desolate.

Even after returning to the Heat's bench, he said nothing, as if the world had nothing to do with him anymore.

"It's boring."

It's really boring.

Because Qin Yue thought O'Neal would try to struggle.

On the sidelines, after the Heat made a substitution, Brown also walked to the sidelines, ready to replace Murphy.

In the next game, O'Neal, who was replaced by Riley after the first three rounds, did not play again.

Afterwards, without O'Neal, Wade and Qin Yue had a big showdown at the Oracle Arena.

Although they played in different positions and were not matched during the game, the two James brothers went back and forth in the game, which made the game unexpectedly exciting.

Wade scored a total of 36 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals for the Heat.

Qin Yue scored 34 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks.

The scoreboard showed 101 to 105.

The Warriors won the game with Ron Artest's winning free throw in the final moments of the game.

In an interview after the game, Riley blamed O'Neal's well-known foot injury for not playing in the subsequent game.

But the Bay Area media did not let off O'Neal, who had previously dared to criticize the Messiah: "Shaq's foot injury is like a switch. As long as he doesn't perform well, he will press the button and tell everyone, 'Look, it's not that I didn't play well, I'm just playing with an injury.' But as long as he performs well, his foot injury will heal automatically."

Qin Yue did not make any comments on O'Neal's "smart" foot injury after the game because he had completely lost interest in Shaquille O'Neal.

Originally, before entering the league, Qin Yue was worried that he would be arranged by the Warriors to play the five position to defend O'Neal.

But now thinking back.
Qin Yue just felt that he was too young and naive at that time.

The next era no longer belongs to Shaquille O'Neal.

The aged king will finally be respectable.

If he doesn't want to be decent.

In this turbulent new era, there are many people who will help him save face.

In the NBA, no one can stay on the throne forever.

Even Michael Jordan was criticized for his time with the Wizards.

Now, Qin Yue cleared the pent-up energy in his chest and immediately looked into the distance.
Mo Chou has no confidant in the way ahead, who in the world does not know the king?
……

PS: I will update 13000 words today! I will take a leave as I am sick. Then I will thank all readers for their subscriptions, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets and collections!
(End of this chapter)