The longest river

Chapter 84 The Buckle of the Century
Miller then hit another three-pointer using Schmitz's high screen.

After Yang Shuai entered the game, the Pacers scored 5 points in a row.

O'Neal's face turned very ugly.

Not only was he called for an offensive foul on offense, but he was also relentlessly attacked on defense, which is quite embarrassing for a top center.

However, this glimpse reveals why the Pacers were able to force the Magic to a Game 7 last season.

In this era, most NBA teams' offenses revolve around their interior players' low-post attacks.

But the Pacers are one of the few exceptions.

They will certainly launch low-post offense around Schmitz, but Miller will initiate more offense using high pick-and-rolls.

So while the Pacers couldn't contain O'Neal, the Magic also struggled to contain Miller.

这一点在上赛季东决G6体现的最明显，那场比赛奥尼尔15投10中，罚球12罚6中得到26分，发挥已经算不差。

However, the Magic ultimately suffered a crushing 96-123 defeat to the Pacers.

而让步行者队一支防守球队得到120+高分的最主要原因，就是米勒19投13中，三分球10投6中，爆砍36分的表现。

O'Neal got angry. He went to the backcourt and started battling with Schmitz in the low post. Their off-ball movement was full of physical contact.

If this happened in the era before Yang Shuai's time travel, one of the two would have been kicked out for this action, but in this era, it's just a normal confrontation.

Ultimately, O'Neal's strength advantage prevailed, allowing him to trap Schmitz behind him and then receive the ball with his back to the basket.

After passing the ball, Hardaway moved to the weak side, giving O'Neal as much space as possible for one-on-one play.

Miller, positioned in the strong-side corner, attempted to come over to help defend, but O'Neal forced him back with a one-handed pass.

O'Neal had an excellent awareness of help defense and double-teaming.

He eventually got the chance to play Schmitz one-on-one.

A powerful back-to-the-basket move forced Schmitz to lower his center of gravity, followed by a turnaround hook shot towards the free-throw line.

This set of movements is fluid and pleasing to the eye.

"Snapped!"

But just as O'Neal was about to pull the ball up, he suddenly felt a lightness in his hand.

Yang Shuai, who was supposed to follow Hardaway to the weak side, somehow sneaked up behind O'Neal and stole the ball the instant O'Neal turned around!
By the time O'Neal reacted, Yang Shuai had already passed the ball directly to Robertson and then charged forward with his head down.

"Negative energy from Shaquille O'Neal +748".

With the notification sound ringing in his mind, Yang Shuai sprinted towards the front of the field as if his feet were equipped with a small motor.

In just a short while, Yang Shuai had already rushed to the front of all the players on the field.

A huge commotion erupted at the scene.

With Yang Shuai's current awareness and ability in fast breaks, it would be a shame if she didn't participate in the 100-meter race.

Robertson's pass came quickly, and Yang Shuai received the ball and immediately leaped up for a signature tomahawk dunk.

The Magic called a timeout.

After the Pacers brought in Yang Shuai, they went on a 7-0 run, forcing the Magic to call a timeout!

When he left the court, Robertson bumped chests with Yang Shuai, Miller gave Yang Shuai a thumbs up, and even Scott and Best stood up to high-five him as he left the court.

In a corner where no one was paying attention, Best had also begun to get some playing time.

As a point guard, he keenly grasped the reason why Yang Shuai got the opportunity to play, and also began to practice defense diligently.

However, this also shows that as Yang Shuai continues to deliver efficient performances on the court, his environment within the team is also constantly improving.

He won this through his own methods.

"Hansen is like a transmission."

During the timeout, Mike Brin, who was providing commentary for the match, also analyzed the situation on the field.

"The Pacers' starting lineup relied on defense, but Hansen turned it into offense."

Brin's analysis is similar to Ernie Johnson's analysis during the opening game.

"I think Hansen improved the Pacers' defense." However, Hubie Brown, who was standing next to him, had the opposite opinion.

"His defense on Anfernee and his help defense on Shaq brought the Magic's offense to a standstill."

Brown and Ernie Johnson were the commentators for that opening game.

Ernie Johnson was puzzled at the time as to why Larry Brown didn't bring in Yang Shuai in the third quarter, but he knew the answer.

Larry Brown is a coach who is obsessed with defense. If you want to earn a lot of playing time on his team by simply relying on offense, you have to be at least on the same level as Miller.

Yang Shuai at that time clearly did not meet the requirements.

But now, Yang Shuai has earned enough playing time through his defense, and his defensive improvement is surprising, even unbelievable.

However, all of this can be explained.

Yang Shuai has excellent static and dynamic talents. All he needs to master is defensive experience and defensive skills.

This might be difficult for other high school students, but not for Yang Shuai.

The fact that a high school student could go from being virtually unknown to being ranked among the top five in the nation in just over a season demonstrates top-tier basketball IQ.

Therefore, it's entirely understandable that he mastered these defensive skills in less than a season. A similar example is Kobe Bryant this year, who is reportedly considering entering the NBA draft. His defense is currently poor, but there's reason to believe he can achieve something similar.

After the timeout, the Magic's strategy remained the same: have O'Neal post up.

Unlike before, Hardaway did not move to the weak side after passing the ball, but stayed on the strong side.

This adjustment may seem small, but it is very subtle.

Because Anderson and Scott both have a three-point shooting percentage of over 40% this season, and one averages 5.6 attempts per game while the other averages 7.7, their production volume is also very high, so Miller and Robertson dare not easily help defend.

This also shows Yang Shuai's basketball IQ. His initiative to switch to defend Hardaway was due to both his own consideration of being the best one-on-one defender on the team and the fact that Hardaway's three-point shooting was inconsistent, which gave him the opportunity to help defend O'Neal.

After O'Neal set up his position, Hardaway lobbed the ball in.

Yang Shuai also quickly moved to the inside to help defend.

O'Neal is in great form today, while Hardaway hasn't opened his eyes from beyond the arc yet. It's better to let Hardaway shoot from the outside than to let O'Neal get easy scoring opportunities under the basket.

Furthermore, shortening the three-point line means that the distance from the three-point line to the basket is also shorter, which is beneficial for defensive players to help defend the basket.

Facing Yang Shuai's direct help defense, O'Neal did not choose to pass the ball to Hardaway, but instead went ahead to the baseline and turned to hit a high shot off the backboard.

Schmitz's body was pinned down and he couldn't lift his center of gravity, so he could only use his arms to interfere, but such interference was limited for O'Neal.

The basketball bounced off the backboard and landed precisely in the net.

Shaquille O'Neal's dominance in the paint wasn't just due to his strength, but also to his exceptional inside skills.

During warm-ups before this year's All-Star Game, he executed a classic move, backing down Jordan with a series of shoulder fakes and a spin move to score.

This basket helped the Magic regain their composure, and in the next defensive possession, they executed a successful defensive play.

Anderson chased after Miller, not giving him a chance to shoot, and forced him to drive to the basket. Miller's layup attempt was blocked by O'Neal.

This block instantly ignited the emotions of the fans in the stadium.

After the ball was swatted away, it was controlled by Hardaway, who quickly advanced the ball towards the frontcourt.

Yang Shuai reacted quickly and took the lead to defend Hardaway. Hardaway tried to change direction while moving to get past Yang Shuai but failed. In the end, he had to slow down after reaching the three-point line in the frontcourt.

The momentum that was about to build also subsided.

Yang Shuai's performance in this away game has been remarkably effective.

But just then, the sound of falling suddenly increased in volume.

Yang Shuai caught a glimpse of a huge figure sprinting towards the front of the field.

O'Neal was huge, but at this stage, he was surprisingly fast.

The key point is that neither of the Pacers' big men expected O'Neal to launch a fast break immediately after blocking the shot, and it was clearly too late for them to catch up.

Hardaway's pass found O'Neal, who took a big step with the ball and leaped up for a powerful two-handed dunk.

The entire rim was pulled down by his enormous impact, and even the basket frame shook and let out a painful cry.

Shaquille O'Neal has many nicknames, one of which is "Basket Quality Inspector," because he has knocked down several basket rims in actual games.

After landing, O'Neal stared at Yang Shuai with wide eyes, his expression full of provocation.

"Hansen's performance earlier successfully ignited Shaq's emotions," Mike Breen remarked.

Hubie Brown stroked his chin and remained silent. He always felt that there was some kind of grudge between O'Neal and Yang Shuai. Could it be a competition between them as Reebok spokespeople?

Yang Shuai's momentum as a newcomer is too fierce, which can indeed make "veterans" like O'Neal feel uneasy.

O'Neal's dunk ignited the emotions of the fans in the arena, and the shouts and cheers were deafening.

Miller couldn't find a good opportunity to pass the ball to Schmitz, and Schmitz was constantly pushed away from the penalty area by O'Neal.

But at that moment, he noticed Yang Shuai suddenly and quickly cutting in from the weak side.

Back when they played against the Kings, Yang Shuai made a beautiful weak-side cut against Richmond's defense.

Moreover, after this agility talent upgrade, his speed is even faster than before.

Miller passed the ball over, and Schmitz, seeing this, turned around and blocked O'Neal.

Schmitz reacted very quickly, but O'Neal also saw Yang Shuai and managed to squeeze past Schmitz using his physical advantage.

His eyes were filled with murderous intent as he looked at Yang Shuai, much like a bloodthirsty shark.

Seeing O'Neal approaching the basket, Yang Shuai showed no sign of backing down.

At times like these, it's not just about dunking ability, but also about courage and boldness.

It's not so much about whether it can or cannot, but whether it dares to.

Yang Shuai has proven this point more than once, whether facing Rodman, Oakley, or the Ford Mustang in the Slam Dunk Contest.

He leaped into the air first.

Seeing that it was too late, O'Neal realized he was about to become a background character and reached out to pull Yang Shuai back.

However, Yang Shuai's assistant was already prepared and directly blocked O'Neal's outstretched hand.

"Oh!"

Amidst the horrified gazes of the fans at the scene, Yang Shuai slammed the ball into the basket over the belated O'Neal!
　Once the book is published, updates will be scheduled for 12 PM, with a maximum of 3 updates per day. Sometimes, the plot may require 2 or 4 updates. Also, don't worry about the extra charges for the notes; Qidian charges 200 words per line, and I won't exceed 200 words.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)