Chapter 218 The Trap
In the second quarter, in order to chase the score, the "Zen Master" realized that he couldn't let O'Neal rest at all.

But if he didn't let O'Neal rest, based on O'Neal's energy consumption in the first quarter, it wouldn't be long before that fathead fish would be exhausted to death.

Therefore, after calmly analyzing the situation on the court, Phil Jackson decisively used his ultimate move.

While gazing affectionately at O'Neal, Jackson gently patted O'Neal's shoulder and said to him:

"Shaq, this is the final battle. I don't want you to have any regrets.

If, in my opinion, there is anyone who can defeat this Raptors team, it is definitely you."

At that moment, listening to the "Zen Master's" words and seeing the "Zen Master's" firm eyes, O'Neal, who was still panting heavily...

After continuing to pant for a while, he felt that endless power was surging within him.

Tonight, even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, he, O'Neal, would闯 (chuǎng - venture, charge) forward!

Just...

In the second quarter, O'Neal, who was being "hacked" again and again, soon developed a feeling called regret in his heart.

With O'Neal repeatedly missing free throws, the Raptors seemed determined to help O'Neal lose weight tonight, frantically making the fathead fish run back and forth.

At the critical moment, fortunately, the Raptors' "professional Shaq-hacker," Williams, was sanctioned by the rules.

Midway through the second quarter, Williams, who received his sixth personal foul of the night, was sent off the court.

And it is worth mentioning that when he fouled out, Williams, who had made outstanding contributions to tormenting O'Neal for the Raptors tonight...

Kept waving to the fans in the Air Canada Centre, proudly enjoying the cheers from the entire arena.

It can be said that everyone is responsible for breaking O'Neal's mentality.

Tonight, in order to allow Williams to continue hacking Shaq sustainably, the Raptors' perimeter players were doing their best to share some of his fouls.

And to make O'Neal uncomfortable, when Williams fouled out, the Canadian fans on the scene gave him a hero's treatment.

Since entering the league seven years ago, O'Neal had never been as indignant as he was tonight.

Looking back, although he had never won a championship...

But at least, he had fought countless heroes.

But tonight, O'Neal's divine power didn't even have time to be unleashed, and his energy bar...

Was almost empty.

But now it was better. After Williams, that jerk, was ejected, O'Neal quickly adjusted his state, preparing to use his remaining energy to crush this Raptors team.

However...

Tonight, more than just Williams wanted to eat chopped pepper fish head?

On the Raptors' bench, Davis waved his hand, and Mark Bryant, who rarely had a moment of fame, was immediately sent into action.

Standing at 206 centimeters tall and weighing 111 kilograms, Bryant, whether in terms of physique or fame, was certainly no match for a monster like O'Neal.

Therefore, when John Davis sent this utility player onto the court, Jackson, on the Lakers' bench, knew what the Raptors were planning to do next, even if he thought about it with his toes.

CCTV, Zhang指导 (zhǐdǎo - commentator) said, "Yo, if they keep playing like this today, O'Neal might set a record."

Beside him, Su Junyang also echoed, "Yes, if the Raptors continue to send O'Neal to the free-throw line, then O'Neal is likely to set a Finals record for missed free throws and a Finals record for free-throw attempts tonight."

In fact, if he could, O'Neal didn't want either of these records.

In the 99/00 season, in that year's Finals, O'Neal had set a record of 18-for-39 in Game 2.

Compared to that Pacers team, this Raptors team was not only stronger, but also faster in terms of pace.

In Su Feng's original timeline, O'Neal hated the Hack-a-Shaq strategy.

He even once said in an interview that the Hack-a-Shaq strategy was a tactic used by cowards.

In O'Neal's opinion, it was understandable to use the Hack-a-Shaq strategy when you were behind.

Because when you were behind, it was a strategy.

But like the Raptors tonight, who were leading by almost 20 points and still hacking...

O'Neal had really never seen it before.

Of course, back in his previous life, Su Feng was very disdainful of O'Neal's statement.

Because whether using the Hack-a-Shaq strategy when leading or when trailing, in Su Feng's opinion, it was a strategy.

Take Da Ben (Ben Wallace) now, for example. Why didn't the Lakers dare to砸钟 (zá zhōng - foul him intentionally)?

In the end, as long as you could make the free throws, even if it was only one out of two, the Hack-a-Shaq strategy would automatically fail.

Air Canada Centre, this might be the only time Da Ben could hold his head high in front of O'Neal.

Back in Philadelphia, under the tutelage of Stackhouse, Da Ben, who had mastered the essence of the deep squat, splayed-leg free-throw technique, was undoubtedly the brightest star on the court at this moment.

…

In the second half of the second quarter, after O'Neal gradually found his free-throw accuracy, the Raptors didn't blindly hack anymore.

Because since the goal of tormenting O'Neal had been achieved, then next, the Raptors only needed to continue to make O'Neal lose weight.

Tonight, with O'Neal's power greatly reduced, even a reasonable Kobe couldn't influence the course of this game.

At halftime, the score between the two teams had been rewritten to 42 to 62.

And after halftime, in the third quarter...

Carter, who had been forgotten all along, shattered the Lakers' last hope of a comeback with his explosive dunk.

For Carter, who was sitting on the sidelines and watching his cousin shine, how could he be willing to lag behind?

In the third quarter, Su Feng and Carter pulled off a godly collaboration.

At that time, Su Feng, using his speed to break through Kobe's defense, suddenly did a snake-like turn in front of O'Neal, who was helping with the defense.

Then, because of his serious decline in energy, guess what, O'Neal really didn't fall for Su Feng's trick.

Too bad...

The great Raptors point guard Steve Nash once said:

To pass the ball to the Raptors' swingmen, you only need to throw the ball into the sky.

On the court, before losing his balance, Su Feng directly flicked the basketball over O'Neal's head.

And Carter, who had been building up his energy for the entire game, descended from the sky.

哐当 (kuāng dāng)——!

"That's Vince Carter!" On the sidelines, an excited Stephen Curry waved his little fist and shouted loudly.

And beside him, watching Seth Curry, whose eyes were not deceived by Carter's dunk, old Curry was very fortunate at this moment that although his main account was ruined, fortunately, he still had a small account to inherit the Curry family's legacy.

However, old Curry, who had been pleased for less than ten seconds, quickly felt the cruelty of reality.

Because on the court, just as Kobe was thinking about how to beat this Raptors team, suddenly, Su Feng's big hand directly snatched the basketball from his hand.

Immediately afterward, Su Feng made a fast break alone.

An angered Kobe followed closely behind.

At that moment, looking at Su Feng getting further and further away from him, Kobe couldn't help but recall that race in Philadelphia.

And thinking about how Su Feng had let him win at the time, the more Kobe thought about it, the angrier he got, and he wished he could...

Wished he could...

哐当 (kuāng dāng)——!

Tremble, Rocky Mountains!

Su Feng's mountain-splitting decision!

Without a doubt, Su Feng's ordinary one-handed slam dunk was destined to become a famous painting of the century.

In that instant, under the camera's freeze-frame, he, who had completed the dunk before Kobe could catch up, and Kobe, who had been working hard to chase back, seemed to be narrating the events of Lower Merion back then through the picture.

Although Kobe had never beaten Su Feng, he had never given up either.

In front of the TV, on this sad night, watching Kobe's fighting spirit was perhaps the greatest comfort for the Lakers fans.

And on the Raptors' bench, Seth Curry, who had been unmoved by Carter's dunk just now, waved his small hand excitedly and roared:

"See, that's 'Melo'!"

Air Canada Centre, Carter couldn't help but be jealous.

Because after Su Feng scored this goal, what followed was a deafening:

"MVP————!!"

"MVP————!!"

"MVP————!!"

On the sidelines, a young LeBron James, while listening to the cheers that were enough to pierce his eardrums, admiringly turned his gaze to that number 23 on the court.

And sitting beside him, little Yao clenched his fists and silently felt the boiling blood in his body.

"This is the king of the NBA, Your Majesty the Princess."

Lili, whose eyes had been turned into hearts by Su Feng, said after poking Britney in the waist.

The king of the NBA?

To be fair, although Britney had almost been angered to death by Su Feng before.

But at this moment, watching Su Feng, who was standing on the court with a calm expression amidst the Canadian fans' crazy cheers...

Even Britney, who had seen the world, had to admit that Su Feng had indeed transcended national borders in terms of appearance and stood at the pinnacle.

Sexy muscles, unruly buzz cut, domineering eyes, dashing figure.

In short...

Handsome, that's all that mattered.

…

On the Lakers' bench, knowing that the overall situation was over tonight, the "Zen Master" didn't struggle in the fourth quarter.

And after Hu Weidong and Su Feng, Wang Zhizhi also became the third Chinese player to appear in the NBA Finals in this life.

On the sidelines, watching Wang Zhizhi, who used to beat him like he was beating a cub, could only appear in garbage time in the Finals, little Yao's heart was filled with mixed emotions at this moment.

And noticing the change in little Yao's expression, Su Feng, who had returned to the bench to rest, felt that he must prepare a camera to take meme-worthy pictures in the next game.

Patting little Yao on the shoulder, Su Feng smiled and said, "They are indeed stronger than you now, but I believe that in the near future, you will surpass them."

Listening to Su Feng's earnest encouragement, little Yao nodded.

On this day, little Yao made up his mind in his heart.

That was that he must work hard, work hard, and work even harder.

Many years later, when people asked Yao Ming why he was so diligent, the then-elderly Yao Ming smiled as he recalled his lost youth:

"I work hard to run forward, just to catch up with the me in Brother Feng's eyes."

Air Canada Centre, finally, 86 to 107, the Raptors successfully took the lead in the Finals.

Throughout the game, Su Feng was 11-for-21 from the field, including 3-for-6 from three-point range and 5-for-7 from the free-throw line, efficiently scoring 30 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 1 block with an overall shooting percentage of over 50%.

And the "Old Rogue" contributed 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

The Ka Mai (Carter-Mai - Carter and Tracy McGrady) brothers combined for 28 points, and old Curry and Joe Smith also had 10 and 11 points, respectively.

The strong performance of the bench lineup was the key to the Raptors' big win over the Lakers in Game 1.

Because on the Lakers' side, apart from O'Neal, who was 11-for-19 from the field and 10-for-35 from the free-throw line, getting 32 points and 16 rebounds, only Kobe, who was 7-for-17 from the field, getting 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals including free throws and three-pointers, was worth watching.

After the game, in an interview, O'Neal, who had been chopped into chopped pepper fish head by the Raptors, complained:

"I hope to have a fair battle with the Raptors, instead of being frequently sent to the free-throw line in the game."

In response, on the Raptors' side, John Davis responded at the press conference:

"In my opinion, since the league has formulated the corresponding rules, then we reasonably use the rules, which is the best embodiment of fairness.

Therefore, if Shaq doesn't want to be sent to the free-throw line, then he just needs to shoot accurately, right?"

At the press conference, the reporters all felt that Davis's words made a lot of sense.

Yes, you, O'Neal, just need to shoot accurately, right?

You know, in basketball games, free throws can be said to be the easiest way to score.

Okay...

Now, O'Neal's mentality completely collapsed.

Because the next day, after noticing that the public not only did not support him, but were instead vying to ridicule his free throws...

O'Neal just wanted to say one thing for himself:

If I could shoot accurately, would I still care about them using the Hack-a-Shaq strategy?

After losing Game 1, the morale of the entire Lakers team was not high.

Because the Lakers players who had finished Game 1 were very clear that in the next game, the Raptors would definitely keep hacking O'Neal.

And originally, before the Finals started, the script O'Neal had written for himself was like this:

As long as the Lakers could win one of the two road games in Toronto, that would be good.

In O'Neal's mind, with his earth-shattering power, coupled with his lovely little Pippen, it should be a matter of course to win one game against the Raptors in Toronto.

And after returning to Los Angeles, it wouldn't matter even if the Lakers couldn't hold onto all three home games.

Because as long as they could win two more games, the Lakers would be able to get two match points and completely seize the initiative in this round of the Finals.

But now...

After playing Game 1, O'Neal and the other Lakers players couldn't see any hope of winning a game in Toronto at all.

Because ever since the Raptors' "Era of Inheritance: Part 2" was broadcast, now the entire North America, except for Los Angeles, was full of fifty-year Raptors fans.

Favorable timing, geographical advantage, and popular support, plus the Raptors' unsolvable Hack-a-Shaq strategy...

"Shaq, in your eyes, which is more important, face or the championship?"

The day after Game 1, Kobe took the initiative to find O'Neal.

And upon hearing this, O'Neal said after hesitating for a long time, "Kobe, what you mean is..."

Kobe, who only wanted to beat the Raptors severely, said to O'Neal, "Since Ben can accept the splayed-leg free throw, why can't you?"

O'Neal: "..."

Honestly, if it wasn't because he had been hacked too miserably in Game 1 and knew that he had to take the blame for the loss in Game 1, O'Neal would definitely have had a good discussion with Kobe.

Don't be surprised, O'Neal was just such a stubborn person.

In Su Feng's previous life, many people around O'Neal had suggested that he adopt the splayed-leg free throw.

However, O'Neal replied to this:

Even if he died, he could never use the splayed-leg technique in a game.

During the Lakers' three-peat era, because of O'Neal's free throws, the Lakers had actually faced many crises.

But relying on his brute strength, after repeatedly turning danger into safety, O'Neal instead became more determined to protect his idol image.

But in this life, the situation was a bit different.

Facing the powerful Raptors, listening to Kobe's questioning, O'Neal, who had never tasted a championship, began to try the splayed-leg free throw in training after hesitating for a morning.

And in order to maintain O'Neal's face, Kobe rarely turned on his emotional intelligence.

During training, any Lakers player who wanted to laugh at O'Neal's free-throw posture was glared back by Kobe with a death stare.

With a strong enemy in front of them, even Kobe was willing to wholeheartedly assist O'Neal.

But the prerequisite was that O'Neal could solve his damn free throws.

However, after training, Kobe, who had rarely turned on his emotional intelligence, overlooked one person.

"Derek, I feel that after using the splayed-leg free throw, my accuracy hasn't improved significantly.

Do you think it's necessary for me to use such a free-throw posture in the game?"

O'Neal, who felt that he still couldn't get past the hurdle in his heart, asked his teammates one by one after training.

And because the other players had been warned by Kobe with a death stare, everyone's answers, without exception, followed Kobe's lead.

But...

Fisher, who had thoroughly read "Machiavellianism," understood that O'Neal didn't want to use the splayed-leg free throw from the bottom of his heart.

The reason why he kept asking his teammates was that he hoped someone would stand up and stop him.

And after weighing the influence of Kobe and O'Neal on the Lakers now, Fisher decisively took sides.

In Fisher's opinion, once O'Neal used this free-throw method in the game and still couldn't improve his accuracy...

Then, with O'Neal's meticulous personality, Fisher was very clear that the fathead fish would definitely sink everyone into the Pacific Ocean.

Therefore, in Fisher's opinion, he, who was good at sucking up, had to stand up and stop this hidden crisis in the team.

After all, no one knew better than Fisher, who was good at hugging thighs, how high the potential of this Lakers team really was...

So, rather than risking the team collapsing to let O'Neal use the splayed-leg free throw, in Fisher's opinion, it was better to let O'Neal follow his heart.

So, Fisher said to O'Neal, "Shaq, I don't think you need to force yourself.

Because if you still can't shoot accurately with the splayed-leg in the game, wouldn't it become a joke?"

Listening to Fisher's suggestion, O'Neal decisively nodded.

At that moment, O'Neal felt that Fisher was indeed the most loyal subject by his side.

On the other side, because O'Neal hadn't been able to improve his accuracy after adopting the splayed-leg free throw, Kobe decisively called Stackhouse overnight, intending to learn from this toilet-style free-throw expert.

However, the next day, after learning that O'Neal had given up the splayed-leg free throw, the young Kobe suddenly felt "betrayed."

Especially after noticing that O'Neal was very optimistic and said that he would no longer be bound by the Hack-a-Shaq strategy, the crack between Kobe and O'Neal...

Had finally appeared.

In fact, with the team suffering a crushing defeat in the first game, O'Neal's optimistic personality was not a bad thing.

Because compared to being overly pessimistic, if even the Lakers players didn't believe that they could beat the Raptors, then how could they play against the Raptors?

And Kobe's eagerness to win and his desire for O'Neal to make changes were also not bad things.

Because compared to sitting and waiting for death, if the Lakers didn't find a way to break the Raptors' Hack-a-Shaq strategy, then how could they compete with the Raptors for the championship?

In Su Feng's previous life, after understanding his youth, O'Neal and Kobe realized that their personalities were the most perfect complement to each other in a sense.

Unfortunately, history couldn't be restarted, and there were no assumptions or ifs in history.

On this day, in the Raptors' training hall, Su Feng, who was twisting the rope with Jordan, had no idea that a man named Derek Fisher had actually made a divine assist to the Raptors under various coincidences...

…

ps: New month, please give me a guaranteed monthly ticket. (Begging!)