The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 555 - 231: Let’s Not Have Those Grand Dreams Like New York in Orlando!

Chapter 555: Chapter 231: Let’s Not Have Those Grand Dreams Like New York in Orlando!

Su Wan not only passed to Shaquille O’Neal inside but also found Chauncey Billups on the wing for a three-point shot.

Michael Pietrus and Howard were the highest defensive configuration for the Magic Team against any player, but Su Wan faced this defense without any pressure; he had too many helpers around him and too many options to choose from.

The Magic Team’s defense simply couldn’t cover all bases.

At this time, Stan Van Gundy used to pin his hopes on Tekeglu, expecting him to lead the Magic Team in attack and trigger one "Scoring Wave" after another.

Under the Pacers system, although there were many outside shooting options, the poor mobility of the frontline made the ball movement slightly dull, relying more on Su Wan’s breakthrough with the ball to change the Magic Team’s defensive positions.

As a result, the Pacers’ scoring pace wasn’t fast, not like their usual ability to trigger one "Scoring Wave" after another.

If Tekeglu performed normally, under his leadership, the Magic Team could unleash more ferocious attacks with their three-point shooting outside the line.

Just...

Tekeglu couldn’t attract defenders, and alone, his abilities were not enough to solve little O’Neal’s defense, making the Magic Team’s "shooter group" somewhat awkward at that time.

The inconsistency of three-point shots was exposed at that moment:

Unless as strong as Ray Allen, most three-point shooters in the League share the same feature; their shooting accuracy drastically decreases under pressure.

There are very few three-point shooters who can perform normally under tight coverage.

Lewis was the strongest three-point shooter among the Magic Team’s outside shooters and the one who shot better that night with a first-half percentage of just 2 out of 6.

Not much to be said about others.

Three-point shooting is one of the two "lifelines" for the Magic Team, along with relying on Howard’s inside slam dunks and "Second Attack" after grabbing rebounds.

This season, Howard averaged 20.6 points per game, making him the "Scoring King" within the Magic Team.

The Magic Team averaged 101 points in the regular season, with Howard’s scoring accounting for one-fifth of it.

The fatal problem, however, was that Shaquille O’Neal compressed the space under the basket, leaving Howard dumbfounded. The easy scoring opportunities from the regular season disappeared, and he didn’t even get the chance to fight under the basket for "Second Attacks."

Shaquille O’Neal’s mass was one thing, but his height of 2.16 meters was key!

This was really...

Howard had no temper at all.

Don’t think that future Howard paired with "Thick Eyebrow" could limit Jokic together; Howard still being the one to guard Jokic just proved his lack of defensive capability in the five position.

Honestly, Jokic’s style compared to traditional fives wasn’t so traditional.

Although he is 2.11 meters tall and weighs 129 kg.

His style isn’t about strong attacks under the basket — Jokic lacks explosive power in the paint, making it hard to push defenders away in an instant. His real threat on offense comes from his versatile offensive skills, not from mastering any particular one.

Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming were different; they thrived on strong plays under the basket.

For them, physical confrontation is a daily affair.

Howard had absolutely no chance, and the sunny-faced man who seemed to have "no brain" was no laughing matter at the time.

This game was truly difficult for him.

Only without Shaquille O’Neal could he find his vitality.

But regardless of Shaquille O’Neal’s physical fitness issues or the intensity of playoff confrontations, about 25 minutes of playing time could still be guaranteed.

Howard could have at most 23 minutes of breathing room under the basket.

And that was just breathing room. Marc Gasol could also compress the space under the basket, just less experienced than Shaquille O’Neal.

But lacking experience, we have fouls!

Six fouls, indeed!

Howard sighed in relief whenever Shaquille O’Neal left the court.

But right when facing Marc Gasol and finding an opportunity to show this Spanish rookie what real talent in basketball looks like, Marc Gasol committed a clear foul, sending him to the free-throw line.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Without any surprise, Howard carried on the Magic Team’s excellent tradition at the five, missing two consecutive free throws, with the camera even cutting to Shaquille O’Neal.

Camera language, inheritance needs no words.

Marc Gasol used his six fouls in ten minutes on the court, wasting Howard’s precious scoring opportunities. After sending Marc Gasol off, the "Shark" on the Pacers bench stood up, grinning and walking towards him.

The Magic Team’s other "lifeline" also broke.

The game ended with the Pacers, led by Su Wan, building a steady game and finally scoring 99 points, winning by 17 points against the Magic Team — from here you can see the difference between position war and running battle; the Pacers had been leading since the latter half of the first quarter, with very smooth offense outputs, but the final score difference was "only" 17 points.

Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)

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