Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 177 The Reality of a Triple Dream Shattered

During the break, Jackson squatted down in front of O'Neal.

"Shaq, I know you're tired."

The Western Conference Finals went to seven games, which was actually very taxing on the Lakers.

Jackson noticed that O'Neal's performance fluctuated.

For example, in the second game, O'Neal was simply unable to continue playing.

The third game can be attributed to the Lakers setting up the ball for him, coupled with his rebound from rock bottom.

Although he has rested for two days, O'Neal is clearly no longer able to play.

In the first quarter, O'Neal took 4 shots and scored 6 points.

The efficiency is okay, but the number of shots is not good.

It felt like my legs were weak, and I couldn't reach the basket.

Brown's physicality has always been excellent, and at only 20 years old, he's young, energetic, and has had plenty of rest during the playoffs, so he's full of energy.

But knowing this doesn't mean there's anything you can do about it.

So Jackson said, "Shaq, you need to get moving and keep up with Kwame. Don't let him have it too easy."

"Most importantly, you need to score points."

O'Neal can't defend, this is a major problem.

But at least when he's standing under the basket, he still has enough of a deterrent effect.

Actually, the problem isn't that big.

What really gave Jackson a headache was O'Neal's offense.

Six points in a single quarter isn't enough. When Kobe can't get going, he hopes O'Neal can step up like he did in the last game.

O'Neal didn't say anything, he just breathed heavily.

Fatigue is something that accumulates slowly, and recovery is also slow. It's not something you can regain your energy by lying down for a day or two.

Especially when facing Brown's high-intensity defense in every game.

When Jackson was about to speak, O'Neal waved his hand to stop him.

"Phil, I understand. Please stop talking."

O'Neal was feeling a bit irritated.

Don't always rely on me. I scored 51 points in the last game. I worked my butt off to help the team win the game. You can't keep relying on yourself.

Where is that person?
He's been coasting for several games now, always saying he needs to get used to defense. It's been several games, he should be used to it by now.

He glanced at Kobe.

Kobe happened to see it, and he also understood the dissatisfaction in O'Neal's eyes.

Kobe clenched his fists without revealing his true feelings, his heart burning with anger.

When the team lost and fell behind, Kobe was more anxious than anyone else.

But Sasser's defense was too good.

And it wasn't just him, there was also Billups; the Magic's perimeter defense was really good.

Break time.

Jackson, not having time to say anything more, urged everyone to come on stage.

Kobe led the bench players.

O'Neal needs to rest for a few minutes.

To Jackson's surprise, Brown, who was substituted out after 11 minutes in the first quarter, came back on early.

Before the Lakers could even get going and catch up, their own interior defense was completely overwhelmed.

O'Neal has never had a good backup.

Medvedenko was just a makeshift player. When he was on the court, he couldn't even beat the aging Ewing, let alone Brown, who could go toe-to-toe with O'Neal.

At the start of the second quarter, Brown, who received the ball with his back to the basket, displayed a bit of O'Neal's domineering presence in the paint. He didn't even bother with fakes, but instead forced a turn, using subtle leg-grabbing to gain the upper hand and push Medvedenko behind him.

Then he slammed the ball in with both hands in one swift move.

Not finished yet.

Brown played too easily against Medvedenko. Before Walker could double-team him, he cut across the middle, stopped abruptly to shake off Medvedenko, and then made a layup.

In just over a minute, Brown initiated all three of the Magic's offensive possessions, scoring 6 points in a row.

Without hesitation, Jackson called a timeout and sent O'Neal onto the court.

Brown wouldn't be this unruly when O'Neal was on the court.

This surge in points widened the gap to 11 points.

Jackson's heart pounded.

Facing equally matched, or even some, opponents who are outmatched, they've dug themselves a 10-point hole right from the start, and filling that hole won't be easy.

And what's most worrying is that O'Neal, who was rushed into the game, still struggled.

In the 8th minute, O'Neal turned around and walked to the baseline with his back to the goal.

His footwork was too slow, and he didn't generate enough power when he jumped under pressure, so the ball went low.

Brown leaped and slammed the ball onto the backboard.

The whole audience exclaimed.

The Magic's bench erupted in cheers.

Rivers suddenly raised his arms, as proudly as if he had blocked O'Neal's shot.

That's Shaquille O'Neal!
Brown landed, staring fiercely at O'Neal.

After the loss in the last game, although Rivers admitted his mistake, no one blamed him for not being able to defend O'Neal.

But Brown was not satisfied with himself.

It was just a few points away. If I had been more aggressive and made a few more saves, the result might have been different.

So before this game, he secretly vowed not only to try his best to defend against O'Neal, but also to score more points.

If O'Neal gave it his all and scored 50 points, why can't I?

I'm still the youngest man to score 50 points!

As O'Neal stumbled to the ground, he saw Brown's expression, and a surge of anger instantly rose within him.

He rushed up and shoved Brown.

Brown was taken aback.

Want to fight?
He instinctively tried to rush forward, but PJ Brown caught him with lightning speed.

Why are you rushing? If you want to rush, then I'll rush!
Rivers said when he was traded for him that he wanted to be Brown's bodyguard.

After pulling Brown away, PJ Brown directly confronted O'Neal in the face, unleashing a torrent of trash talk.

Come on, hit me!

Go check your battle record; I traded one for five back in the day.

Before O'Neal could even throw a punch, Horry grabbed him and forcibly pulled him away.

A minor disturbance, nothing serious.

Jackson stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, not even lifting his eyelids.

But he was far from at peace.

He could tell that O'Neal was really desperate.

This is not a good sign.

Most importantly, we absolutely cannot afford to lose this match.

Being down 1-3 is a completely different story.

So Jackson didn't even dare to take O'Neal off the court to calm him down.

The two players on the field were separated.

"Kwame, are you alright?" PJ Brown asked anxiously.

Brown shook his head and went straight to the free throw line.

He played for a whole season and was a key player, so he was targeted more often.

What we're seeing now is just a small-scale event.

Shaquille O'Neal was enraged after being blocked once.

He turned his head and sprang to his feet, received the ball under the basket, and then, like a python flipping over, arched his back to block Brown and slammed the ball into the hoop.

Even with his back straight, he remains unstoppable.

But like a dying fish, it only struggles for a moment before immediately losing its strength.

Brown didn't care.

He didn't expect to be able to completely stop O'Neal, so he just traded blows.

We've already had three big wins, one more won't make a difference.

After a pick-and-roll, McGrady, despite being blocked by O'Neal, drifted out of bounds and passed the ball to Brown who was following up.

Facing O'Neal as he turned around, Brown didn't hesitate to leap up and slam the ball into the basket.

He scored 10 points in the quarter.

But it's not enough.

Youth was embodied in this moment.

Brown sets screens, helps on defense, shoots mid-range jumpers, and dominates in the low post; he's everywhere, seemingly tireless.

On the contrary, O'Neal slowed down more and more, even his shuttle runs were slow and he fell behind. As soon as he slumped, the Lakers immediately lost their ability to keep up in the score.

The point difference is almost 15 points.

Jackson paced back and forth on the sidelines, his nerves on the verge of snapping.

Just then, someone finally stepped forward.

Kobe!

From the mid-range position, Kobe twice backed down Sather, then turned and jumped to make the shot.

He seems to have regained his form.

At that moment, Jackson truly felt a surge of joy that brought him to tears.

He waved his arms, signaling Kobe to attack.

Still in the mid-range, Kobe once again backed down against Sather, faked a shot, pretended to shoot, but forcefully pulled back, crouched down and squeezed past Sather, stretched out his arm and threw the ball in.

After scoring, Kobe couldn't help but grab his jersey and yell.

He had a very frustrating time in the first three games.

Now, after trying all his offensive methods, Kobe has found that his most reliable move is the post-up game.

Or rather, an attack initiated by a back-to-the-basket move.

Kobe was thrilled.

Indeed, technology is king.

When Kobe first entered the league, he relied on his talent to play basketball. He was a defensive specialist and a driving prince.

Back then, Kobe knew that talent wouldn't last, so he trained hard every season to improve his skills.

His breakthroughs became more incisive, he learned to pull up for a jump shot, and in his first championship season, he developed his mid-range shot.

Last season, he even learned to turn around and shoot.

Before this, Kobe felt that he had evolved fast enough and his skills were sufficient.

But now, facing a defender like Sasser with amazing physical attributes and a full range of defensive skills, Kobe realized that his skills were still not good enough.

It was too late for regrets. Fortunately, I had adapted to this level of defensive intensity and found a way to deal with it.

Near the baseline, Kobe once again backed down Sather, dribbled the ball behind him, and then turned and jumped for a shot.

He even added a bit of leaning back.

Sather leaped up as if following closely, but even with his arms outstretched, he couldn't create any interference.

The basketball fell into the basket in a very high arc.

Go in again!

Kobe found his rhythm and his shooting touch exploded.

Rivers called a timeout at lightning speed.

Kobe has scored 8 points in a row, and he needs to cool down Kobe's shooting touch.

It won't get cold.

With the right approach, Kobe Bryant, especially after regaining his confidence, was unstoppable.

After the timeout, Kobe was still scoring.

Sather defended to the limit, so he intentionally fouled Kobe's hand to disrupt his rhythm.

It felt like Kobe just casually tossed the ball in, and it still went in.

In the second half of the second quarter, Kobe took over the Lakers' offense, scoring 13 points in the quarter amidst waves of cheers from the Lakers fans, narrowing the gap to just 8 points.

The crowd erupted in cheers for the MVP.

Rivers couldn't help but start to get nervous again.

In the last game, O'Neal had an unstoppable outburst, single-handedly helping the Lakers win the game.

In this game, O'Neal faltered, while Kobe exploded.

However, while the head coach was nervous, the players remained calm.

Especially Billups.

When he left the field, Billups first grabbed Sather and offered a few words of comfort.

"It's okay, you defended very, very well. That's Kobe, he'll find his rhythm eventually."

"And most importantly, we're in the lead."

Billups' composure infected Sasser, whose expression softened considerably.

This is not over yet.

Billups caught up, patted Brown on the back, and laughed, "Kwame, let's continue in the second half."

Kobe scored 13 points in a single quarter, but Brown scored 15 points in a single quarter.

He had already scored 24 points by halftime.

Billups had a strong feeling that Brown was going to explode today.

He was so frustrated by O'Neal's performance in the last game.

Brown didn't speak, but just nodded with a fierce expression.

He doesn't want to trade blows with O'Neal today; he wants to dominate him!

This time, Rivers didn't make the same mistake again. When he returned at halftime and noticed that Kobe's shooting touch was still explosive, he immediately double-teamed him.

Kobe's offensive momentum slowed down.

The Lakers' offense immediately crumbled.

Jackson, who had been happy for halftime, suddenly looked worried again.

He also chose to double-team Brown.

Brown was in an incredibly good form today.

But the result was the same: they managed to stop one, but there was still McGrady.

On the Lakers' side, Kobe was locked down, and Shaq couldn't really step up.

The score difference gradually widened in small increments.

Jackson was already on the verge of despair.

This is already the fourth match, and he feels like he's used every trick in the book.

It's now a battle of star players; it's a question of which side is in better form.

Clearly, O'Neal, who had overexerted himself in the last game, was out of commission in this one.

If one of the two is rendered useless, the result is obvious.

The 10-point difference remained unchanged until the very end.

As Horry missed a three-point attempt, Brown leaped up to grab the rebound, and the final few seconds quickly passed.

competition is over.

Amidst a great outcry of regret, the entire Staples Center fell silent, as if at a funeral.

The Lakers are down 1-3!
The next battle will not be a decisive one, but a fight for survival in a desperate situation.

Watching the Magic players cheering and celebrating wildly on the court, every Lakers fan felt a pang of heartache.

Especially when he saw Brown surrounded by a crowd, raising his arms and shouting at the stands.

This kid scored 43 points today!
Every time the Lakers narrowly closed the gap, Brown would take a shot, shattering all the hopes of Lakers fans with a mid-range jumper.

He not only took a lot of mid-range shots today, but he was also incredibly accurate, making 8 out of 10 shots.

Jackson stared intently, shook hands with Rivers hastily, and then quickly left the court.

He didn't intend to give up, but he still couldn't help feeling discouraged.

At the post-game press conference, Jackson looked unusually tired.

"We all underestimated magic; they are really strong."

This was the first time Jackson genuinely praised magic.

Before the series began, Jackson thought he had taken the Magic seriously enough, but the Magic's strength still exceeded his expectations.

"Phil, we won't lose the next game, right?"

A local Los Angeles media member stood up and asked a question.

He stared intently at Jackson, anticipating the answer he wanted.

"of course."

Jackson composed himself and forced a smile.

But deep down, he only felt despair.

In today's game, Kobe regained his form and scored 29 points.

But it's not enough, or rather, it's too late.

The status update came out too late.

They're already down 1-3, with no room for error.

Moreover, Jackson has always felt that the longer this series goes on, the worse it will be for the Lakers.

If the Western Conference Finals go to Game 7, and then the NBA Finals go to Game 7 again, the Lakers' physical condition will inevitably collapse.

On the contrary, the magicians, who swept all the way up, have been resting for quite some time now.

They're all still young; if they can barely hold on until the end, the Lakers' hopes are slim.

Jackson didn't want to admit it, but reason told him that he might really have to accept the reality of the Lakers losing and his three-peat dream being shattered.

(End of this chapter)