bookbashuk Chapter 21 Put away your double team, I want to go one-on-one with Garnett!
Chapter 21 Put away your double team, I want to go one-on-one with Garnett!
"Shaq," Lin Ze said without hesitation to O'Neal, who was standing at center court ready for the jump ball, "Stop your help defense and let me go one-on-one with Garnett!"
"Okay!" O'Neal nodded immediately, and then, from an angle where the Timberwolves players couldn't see, gave Lin Ze an OK sign.
Shaquille O'Neal is a sly guy too!
"Beep beep!"
At that moment, the referee blew the whistle to start the match.
O'Neal and second-year white center Nesterovic jumped at the same time.
However, the two are vastly different in every aspect. Nesterovic's average stats are less than a fraction of O'Neal's. Apart from his height of 213 cm and broad build, he can be said to be in no way comparable to O'Neal.
The Lakers naturally took control of the first offensive possession of the night.
Harper brought the ball up the court, waiting for his teammates to get into position. He then passed the ball to O'Neal under the basket. O'Neal slammed the ball backward, and Nesterovic couldn't withstand O'Neal's impact. He was forced backward like a piece of paper, and Garnett's help defense arrived in a flash.
This guy's lateral speed and defensive range are truly exceptional; he's in the top tier in the entire history of the league.
However, O'Neal's passing ability has been developed to the maximum extent in the past month. The moment Garnett rushed towards him, he passed the ball backward to Lin Ze.
"Hey kid, come in here!" Garnett shouted at Lin Ze, taunting him before he could even get out.
"Whoosh!"
Unfortunately, Lin Ze has absolutely no intention of going in for a head-on confrontation, at least not now.
He swiftly and easily sank the first three-pointer of the game, then scoffed, "Idiots! Anyone who hasn't been to college is an idiot!"
"I wasn't talking about Kobe." Lin Ze turned to look at Kobe, adding, "You can get into Duke, you're not an idiot."
"I don't need your explanation," Kobe muttered irritably, too lazy to argue with Lin Ze. "Defense!"
After Kobe finished speaking, he took the lead and went to defend the Timberwolves' second-in-command and offensive core, Brandon Trier.
Lin Ze, meanwhile, retorted to Garnett, "Play defense, bro! How are you going to beat me if you don't play defense?"
"You're dead meat, kid! I'll show you how big the gap is between us!" Garnett tried to block Lin Ze and call for the ball from a point to the left of the free-throw line.
Trier, of course, passed the ball to Garnett without hesitation.
As soon as Garnett got the ball, Lin Ze immediately stuck to him, giving him no space to handle the ball or any chance to start a shot.
This is one of Garnett's biggest weaknesses on offense.
This guy relies too much on jump shots, especially high-post jump shots, which he takes with incredible ferocity!
At the same time, he disliked confrontation and hand-to-hand combat. Although Lin Ze was not good at it either, he was not afraid of it!
This guy persevered for two years in that hellish Bulls team! He's not good at physical contact, but he really enjoys it!
What Lin Ze needs to do now is to prevent him from having any space to directly dribble and shoot.
Of course, Lin Ze's defense also has significant drawbacks.
Garnett shifted his weight and took a step, easily bypassing Lin Ze and charging towards the inside.
His face-up skills, his speed, and his fundamentals are unmatched among power forwards today!
It's fast, solid, and takes big steps.
Garnett dribbled past Lin Ze and drove straight into the paint, but Lin Ze didn't give up on defense. He closely guarded Garnett from the side and behind, while the Lakers also had players guarding the wings, making it difficult for Garnett to pass the ball to the sides.
Meanwhile, O'Neal moved over immediately under the basket, leaped high, and charged at Garnett like a demon.
Garnett wanted to pass the ball, but found that he didn't have much space to pass. In fact, the momentum of his charge made it impossible for him to stop, because stopping would only lead to a more difficult situation.
So Garnett had no choice but to go head-to-head with O'Neal.
But in today's league, is it really possible to go toe-to-toe with O'Neal like this?
Everyone who comes is looking for a hat!
"Snapped!"
With a muffled thud, O'Neal's massive hand slapped Garnett's layup away, sending the ball flying towards the free-throw line where Kobe caught it.
Kobe then immediately launched a counterattack, charging ahead of the Timberwolves' defense.
As they sprinted, Lin Ze followed closely behind Kobe. After Kobe drew almost all of the defense's attention, Lin Ze immediately delivered a behind-the-back pass without looking.
Kobe made a very comfortable pass; Lin Ze only needed to receive the ball, take a step, jump, and dunk.
"Watch out!" Kobe saw Garnett right behind Lin Ze, ready to chase and block at any moment. Knowing Garnett's jumping and blocking abilities, he shouted a warning. At the same time, he quickly turned around and blocked the ball, which bounced off Garnett's chase and block.
But then something completely unexpected happened.
Garnett jumped up. His calculations of the footwork, the timing of Lin Ze's jump, and the angle of his shot were almost perfect predictions. Just as the slap was about to hit the basketball, Garnett suddenly frowned.
Because Lin Ze inexplicably pulled back in mid-air, which was not his usual way of playing. This pull back successfully avoided Garnett's defense, but Garnett slapped Lin Ze's arm, causing him to completely lose his balance.
In complete weightlessness, Lin Ze casually tossed the ball toward the backboard, then shouted:
"AND ONE!"
Forget about whether they can get in or not, let's just shout first!
"Whoosh!"
"2 points valid!" The referee blew the whistle quickly, and Lin Ze scored 2+1!
Lin Ze, who was lying on the floor, didn't care whether the shot was lucky or not. As soon as he saw the basketball go into the hoop, he immediately rolled over and lay on the floor, doing a few push-ups with a "heave-ho" sound. Then he sprang up from the floor and glared at Garnett.
"You're terrible at defense! Your defense wasn't even as tight as the girl I was with last night!"
Garnett retorted, not to be outdone: "Kid, you won't be this lucky every round! Not everyone'll have someone to remind you every round!"
"I'd completely forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it." Lin Ze suddenly realized, turning back to look at Kobe and extending his hand. "If you hadn't reminded me, I definitely would have gotten blocked by him!"
How shameless.
Kobe reached out and touched Lin Ze's hand with a look of disgust, almost wanting to wipe his hand on his jersey.
How could someone be so shameless as to say such a thing?
Garnett was now clearly grinding his back teeth to powder.