Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 142 If this were the finals, we would lose.

Jackson stood on the sidelines, his brow furrowed.

In fact, from the very beginning of the game, he was standing on the sidelines observing the game, just like Rivers.

After the first quarter, the Lakers were down by 5 points, but Jackson felt it was okay.

Although O'Neal was contained.

However, Brown only scored 4 points.

O'Neal was not only unstoppable on offense, but his defense under the basket was also boss-level.

So it's like exchanging pieces; it's been exchanged.

The Lakers even made a profit because the Magic also added PJ Brown, and it took double-teaming to limit O'Neal.

In other positions, it can only be said that the Lakers' performance was not as good as the Magic's at the start of the day.

After being double-teamed, if someone steps up and capitalizes on O'Neal's pass, the Lakers shouldn't fall behind.

Jackson was impressed by Brown's performance, but the game wasn't just one quarter, and he didn't believe Brown could maintain such a good defensive performance for the entire game.

And as soon as he relaxes, the Lakers can immediately gain an advantage.

But Jackson never expected that the Lakers would falter during the bench phase.

He glanced at the score: 31 to 21.

Billups led the bench unit and managed to outscore the Lakers 7-2.

They widened the gap to 10 points in one go.

Ten points is a crucial hurdle; one slip and the game could be over.

Jackson immediately called a timeout.

He couldn't help but glance at Billups a few more times.

This supposedly mediocre third-place finisher seems to have really improved!
It's not about how many points he can get.

The media and fans simply look at the data to judge a player's ability.

But as the head coach, Jackson didn't look at this stuff.

Like Kidd, who only averaged around ten points per game, but his impact on the Nets was simply incredible.

The same goes for Billups.

He only averaged a few points per game, but he really got the Magic players moving, putting them together, and creating a threat.

In those few minutes, he orchestrated the Magic's offense.

That makes him an excellent point guard.

Jackson turned and glanced at Fisher.

If Fisher had Billups' ability to orchestrate the offense, the Lakers would be truly invincible.

Inside the studio.

Kenny Smith is also at Quaby Loops.

"I told you, Chauncey is a huge asset to the Magic. His passes are deadly, like this one."

The camera cuts to the pass Billups made to Alexander.

"Just as Courtney moved to the three-point line, Chauncey's pass came over. The timing was perfect. If it had been even half a second later, Mickey would have pounced on him."

In slow motion, the opportunity truly is fleeting.

At this point, Ernie Johnson casually interjected, "That's normal. After all, he plays with a bunch of kids all day long, so he's developed that skill."

Upon hearing this, Barkley immediately lost his composure and could no longer maintain his serious demeanor.

"Playing ball with kids? No way, that would be hilarious."

Barkley slammed his fist on the table and laughed, saying, "Honestly, I still can't figure out what Tang was thinking, how he came up with such a training method."

Smith nodded in deep agreement.

Tang Sen not only came up with this ridiculous training method, but it was also effective.

On-site, return is temporarily suspended.

Faced with a terrible bench, Jackson couldn't come up with any good adjustment plans; all he could do was bring the starters back onto the court.

If we don't come back from a 10-point deficit, the game will be really tough.

The Magic immediately brought back their main players.

Inside the paint, O'Neal and Brown clashed once again.

Feeling Brown's increasing pressure, O'Neal couldn't help but say, "Kid, are you never going to stop?"

The ball hasn't even been passed to you yet, why are you getting so worked up about it!
Brown didn't say anything, he just kept pushing his way out.

O'Neal cursed under his breath, feeling extremely angry.

Before the game, he boasted that he would score 40 points over Brown.

But now, this is the kind of defense they're using!

Seriously, let alone 40 points, getting even 20 points is not easy.

With a swift movement of his arm, O'Neal pinned Brown behind him and immediately reached out for the ball.

Kobe is controlling the ball in the high post.

Instead of passing, he made a crossover, took a step to get past Miller, and pulled up for a shot.

Brown quickly turned around behind him, his legs rooted to the spot, trapping O'Neal firmly behind him.

The ball went in.

O'Neal ran back with a dark expression.

He was already reaching out for the ball himself, didn't you see that?

Anyway, starting from this season, O'Neal felt that Kobe was becoming more and more arrogant.

What was this kid like when I first joined the Lakers?

Without even reaching out, Kobe obediently passed the ball over with just a glance.

Now that they've grown up, they dare to ignore me.

Before I could think any further, Brown started exerting his strength again.

He received the ball and suddenly pushed it backward.

O'Neal has already experienced firsthand how strong Brown is; when he exerts his full power, even he finds it difficult to keep up.

Just like when facing that guy Duncan.

Just as he was exerting force, Brown suddenly pulled back and turned around.

Shet!

O'Neal cursed inwardly, but it was too late.

Brown walked along the baseline, cut past him to the basket, and made a layup.

The Magic's bench erupted in jubilation.

The entire stadium was filled with the shouts and screams of fans.

O'Neal was even more agitated.

He saw Jackson gesturing to him from the sidelines, signaling him to focus more.

O'Neal frowned.

This is something you need to focus on, why don't you come up here yourself and see just how good this kid is?

A rookie, and he's still a high school student? Unbelievable!
In the last game against the Magic, O'Neal felt that Brown's low-post offense was pretty good.

But now, his skills are more refined, his attention to detail is more precise, and he is much better than before.

I have no idea how they trained to do that.

No time to think too much.

Lakers offense.

This time, the ball was successfully delivered.

To O'Neal's surprise, PJ Brown did not immediately come to double-team him, but instead stayed with Walker outside the paint.

All that's left in the paint are himself and Brown.

Brown braced himself against his waist with his arm, refusing to budge an inch.

Is this a one-on-one fight?
O'Neal was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage.

He felt humiliated.

In the first quarter, I didn't play well and only scored 5 points, but the opponent double-teamed me.

This is the respect that should be given.

I am Shaquille O'Neal. No matter how many points I score, if you don't double-team me, you're disrespecting me!

And now.

What, you think Brown alone is enough?
That's incredibly disrespectful!

O'Neal, his face dark, lowered his back and pushed back.

The force coming from my waist was so strong that I could barely lift it.

After a feint, O'Neal pulled back, flipped over to the top of the court, blocked Brown with his left foot, and took a step to get up.

In terms of low-post offensive skills and details, O'Neal may not be as textbook-perfect as Ewing, but he is definitely among the top-tier centers.

Brown didn't lose his position. With his arm braced against his waist, Brown clearly felt the direction of O'Neal's power.

With a lateral movement and a burst of power, Brown and O'Neal leaped up almost simultaneously.

O'Neal has good hand skills; with a flick of his finger, the basketball spun around and fell into the basket.

O'Neal showed no joy upon landing.

Because Brown didn't lose his position and defended very well!

If PJ Brown double-teams him again, he might not even have a chance to shoot.

On the sidelines, Johnny Davis came over to Rivers.

"Doug, Kwame can't stop Shaq by himself."

He didn't know what Rivers was thinking. Before going on the court, he suddenly told Brown that he would be the one to guard O'Neal.

Rivers crossed his arms, his brow relaxed, and said, "I know."

In the entire league, who dares to say that one person can defend Shaq?

"But look at how well he defended, he didn't lose his position, and Shaq had a tough time too."

Rivers thinks it's already very good that Brown defended like that all by himself.

"I want to test how well Kwame can do when he's chosen to guard Shaq alone."

Rivers' gaze deepened.

If we make it to the finals in the future, it will be a series.

It's impossible to double-team O'Neal all the time; that's unrealistic. If you leave one person open, Samaki Walker is a defensive role player, but he's not useless either. If you completely leave him open, it will cause a lot of trouble.

So Rivers wanted to try different defensive strategies to limit O'Neal and see what the result would be.

Brown can defend alone, or play a zone defense, with four players retreating to completely shut down O'Neal.

Ideally, Brown alone could contain O'Neal.

Or rather, he could go toe-to-toe with O'Neal.

You get 30 points, and I get 25 points.

Freeing up PJ Brown will make the Magic's defense more solid.

"Anyway, we're leading by 10 points, we'll see what happens if things get tough."

Rivers himself found it unbelievable; in a real battle, he was able to lead the Lakers by 10 points, something he never expected.

As he spoke, Brown received the ball on the court.

Brown's sweet spot is on the left side of the basket.

Before going on the court, Rivers instructed himself to guard O'Neal alone.

Brown didn't think anything of it.

He himself also wanted to go head-to-head with O'Neal.

In the last game against the Lakers, he was mostly on defense by himself.

Now that two months have passed and I'm stronger, why can't I defend myself?

Moreover, he not only had to defend O'Neal by himself, but also had to attack and score over O'Neal!

Thinking of this, Brown also lowered his waist and exerted force to clear a path.

Even O'Neal cursed under his breath when he got up and bumped into someone; it felt like he'd been hit by a bull.

Countless low-post footwork drills kept Brown's footwork in place.

Although he failed to push O'Neal aside, it didn't hinder Brown's subsequent actions.

He started moving, his body close to O'Neal as he cut across.

It's both sticking on and piggybacking on each other's fame.

Tang Sen kept making him practice rubbing against his opponent, trying to get close to him when attacking.

It's said that you can use rhythm changes, but what's even more impressive is that when you're physically strong enough, you can use your strength to overpower your opponent while moving.

Because the opponent was forced to move sideways, it was difficult for them to exert full force while moving.

Say so.

But it also depends on who you're facing.

This is Shaquille O'Neal; suppressing him is by no means an easy task.

But Brown did it. O'Neal was closely guarded by Brown, and his final jump wasn't strong enough.

The basketball goes in, 2 points in hand.

Brown clenched his fist and clenched it in a silent burst of excitement.

I've put in so much effort and worked so hard these past two months, why shouldn't I succeed?

O'Neal was even more agitated.

He wants to vent!

Like playing against other centers, use your brute force to smash them aside, and then dunk powerfully over their heads, shattering the backboard.

But I can't do it.

That damn brat is too tough; I'll hardly ever have that kind of opportunity.

But he kept scoring.

Before you know it, Brown is here again.

McGrady drove to the basket and passed to Brown near the baseline, who pulled up for a jump shot.

Enter again!

O'Neal glared, seething with anger.

Lakers offense.

Their arms were tangled together, like the two were wrestling, before O'Neal managed to get into position in the low post and receive the ball.

He turned and exerted his strength, forcibly creating a sliver of space, and took a low step to stand up and try to dunk.

But Brown stubbornly resisted and couldn't get up.

O'Neal roared as he forced his way through the space, jumped, and shot off the backboard.

The ball went in!

But O'Neal was very unhappy.

Not enough!

He wanted a one-sided rampage, not the current situation where he struggles to score, like he's constipated, and then can't stop Brown, watching him score over him repeatedly.

This is called mutual destruction.

If the opponent were Duncan or Mourning, then it wouldn't matter.

But Kwame Brown?
O'Neal found it hard to accept.

Courtside.

Jackson paced back and forth in frustration.

The second quarter was almost over, but the score difference was still around 10 points.

The Lakers were unable to close the gap.

This is absolutely unbelievable!

And then there's the inside game; Jackson doesn't understand why the Magic stopped double-teaming him.

This is a good thing.

O'Neal has started scoring; he's already scored 8 points in the quarter.

The problem is that Brown is also scoring; he has 7 points as well.

Jackson was terrified; O'Neal's defense wasn't bad!

But none of this matters.

Most importantly, the Lakers were trailing, and Jackson simply didn't know how to adjust.

If Kobe doesn't play well, I can yell at him a couple of times to get him to focus.

But Kobe's performance was not a problem.

He almost beat Miller to a pulp.

But the Lakers just couldn't catch up, because they couldn't stop the Magic either.

Double-team McGrady, he can pass the ball; PJ Brown can make mid-range shots; Miller can hit three-pointers.

The current situation is like two boxers who are fighting desperately. You throw a punch at me, and I throw a punch at you, but neither of them falls down.

This can only mean one thing: the Magic's current strength is now on par with the Lakers.

Jackson was horrified by this idea.

Before the game started, he really didn't take magic seriously.

Most importantly, while the starters were evenly matched, the Magic's bench seemed to perform even better.

This is the scariest thing!

If this is the final showdown, then the Lakers might actually lose.

(End of this chapter)