The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 367 - 193 Shaquille O’Neal’s "New Leader" Plan_3

Chapter 367: Chapter 193 Shaquille O’Neal’s "New Leader" Plan_3

The Lakers quickly brought Derek Fisher back after Phil Jackson returned.

But now we can’t call him "Little Fish" anymore; it’s "Middle Fish" Fisher!

This dude’s greatest talent was sucking up like no other.

The "Zen Master" was so comforted by his flattery that not only did he let Fisher start as the Lakers’ point guard while coaching the team, but he also brought him over as the head coach when he took over as the Knicks president.

Fisher’s career success was inseparable from his successful "licking skills" towards Phil Jackson.

But it was also because Fisher was known to be starting for the Lakers that Shaquille O’Neal felt even more confident Gibson could perform exceptionally well tonight.

Things were going smoothly...

As Shaquille O’Neal had foreseen, Kobe took on the primary task of defending LeBron tonight, and with Yao Ming’s help in defense, LeBron had a tough time.

By the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers were trailing by 8 points.

Mike Brown habitually called for the "Shark" to screen and cut for LeBron.

Shaquille was naturally mum about it, pretending he didn’t hear while giving Gibson meaningful glances.

The "new leader" plan officially kicked off!

Gibson, from being criticized since he started, now saw his chance to rise just ahead and couldn’t care much about anything else.

Coming into the second quarter, he started playing the game his way.

LeBron was resting off-court at this time, and although Brown frowned upon seeing Gibson wanting to control the ball, he didn’t say anything.

After seeing him score consecutively twice, Brown’s face even showed some unexpected joy.

Tonight’s game against the Lakers was another "intense battle."

Gibson stepping up at this time was definitely a good thing.

But soon, Brown couldn’t remain happy.

The gap was narrowed down to 3 points, and LeBron requested to go back in, ready to personally lead the team to a comeback.

But Gibson ignored him.

Under Shaquille O’Neal’s signaling, he still took the ball and attacked fiercely on his own.

The Lakers began to bring back their starters at this time, but Fisher, hiking up his shorts, couldn’t stop Gibson’s breakthroughs at all. Gibson showed signs of going berserk, and the points difference was gradually being erased by his continuous scoring.

Phil Jackson, rarely quick to react, called a timeout at this moment.

LeBron walked off the court with an unamused expression, and Mike Brown, knowing what he meant, said to Gibson, "Buddy, you’re doing great, but next, give the ball to LeBron. Let the Cavaliers get back into our rhythm, where we can stretch the lead even more."

Gibson, a rookie, still retained a bit of the cowardice of NCAA players.

Besides, facing LeBron, he wouldn’t dare say "no."

However, at this moment, Shaquille’s raspy voice came through, "Mike, I think we should keep letting Dennis control the ball; once the Lakers change up and he’s drawn enough defensive focus, why not pass to someone else then?"

"Tonight, Dennis is good enough; we should give him a chance to prove himself, shouldn’t we?"

Mike Brown did not expect Shaquille to speak up against him.

And he really couldn’t refute Shaquille O’Neal outright.

Even if he was new this season, his status in the basketball world was firmly established.

Let alone Mike Brown arriving a year earlier, even if it had been five years earlier without a championship to his name, he would be nothing in front of Shaquille.

LeBron’s expression turned darker.

He was not an idiot and could see what was happening.

But he couldn’t argue against Shaquille’s words; indeed, Gibson was the one who had rescued the Cavaliers from the deficit...

Let’s see how long he can hold out!

LeBron wasn’t in a hurry; he believed the Lakers would soon come up with a targeted defense, definitely not letting a rookie like Gibson wreak havoc in Staples Center. When Gibson finished with his ’three trick pony’ show, the ball could still return to his hands.

As LeBron had predicted, the Lakers started changing up their strategy, focusing on Gibson.

But to the shock of LeBron and Mike Brown, Shaquille O’Neal actively set screens for Gibson to help him with breakthroughs.

Chaos ensued on the court, and Gibson’s penchant for thriving in disorder shone through.

In the third quarter, he scored 10 points by himself, guiding his team to a 6-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

Later, as signaled, he passed to Shaquille down low, which made the Lakers’ entire defense shift outwards, leaving Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neal alone under the basket.

And throughout the history of "Yao-Shaq battles," most of the time, Shaq couldn’t stop Yao, and Yao couldn’t stop Shaq.

Only towards the end of Shaq’s career did Yao start to have a clear advantage.

Tonight, they were both in explosive mode.

In the final moments, Shaquille O’Neal felt God’s favor on him.

Kobe’s three-pointer rattled out, and in a tussle with Yao, Shaq managed to tip the ball to the three-point line, where Gibson, over Fisher’s arm, lifted his shot and sank a three-pointer, securing the Cavaliers’ victory over the Lakers with a 98 to 93, a 5-point advantage, in this highly anticipated "Christmas Game"!

Shaquille O’Neal, with assists from Gibson, scored 20 points and 7 rebounds.

But the highlight of the night was undoubtedly Gibson, who racked up 28 points and 6 assists.

As someone who previously had less than 5 double-digit scoring games and a highest score of only 15 points, being the "unnoticed player" on the team, to drop such numbers on the "Christmas Game" stage, to lead the team to a comeback, and to hit the "game-winning shot" at the critical moment, such a stark contrast is like a wife supposedly prim and proper with glasses, who enjoys wearing a coat to play exhibitionist!

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢