O’Neal actually doesn’t know how to fight.
When he was 12 years old and already 6 feet 2 inches tall, taller than most adults, it meant that most peers no longer dared to mess with him.
In that school brawl, he was one-sidedly beating the opponent, to the extent that he later kicked the boy, causing the boy to have a seizure.
Since then, O’Neal stopped fighting. He preferred playing pranks rather than hitting people, as no one dared to fight him anyway.
Now, Beelman was telling him to fight someone, and it was Ah Gan. As he stepped back onto the court, O’Neal couldn’t believe why he had taken on such a terrifying task.
Who is Ah Gan? Widely recognized in the NBA as the greatest fighter in history, his status in fighting is even more secure than his status in playing.
O’Neal had watched videos of Ah Gan fighting, and unlike most NBA conflicts that looked like a chaotic mess with everyone pretending, Ah Gan was genuinely fighting.
His wrestling skills were exceptional, his boxing techniques were exquisite, quick, stable, accurate, and fierce, knocking out opponents with one punch each, every punch a sedative, never a bluff.
Mike Tyson had specifically commented on Gan Guoyang’s punches, saying that if he pursued professional boxing with training, he had the potential to become a world-class champion.
Tyson’s words were somewhat flattering, considering Tyson and Old Tang were good friends. With Ah Gan being the greatest in basketball history, it was natural for Tyson to praise him.
However, with Gan Guoyang’s height, strength, reaction speed, and exceptional stamina, if he focused on boxing, he could definitely make a name for himself in the ring.
Moreover, boxing wasn’t even Gan Guoyang’s favorite combat sport. What he truly liked and excelled at was wrestling, a more primitive and practical fighting skill.
Gan Guoyang dedicated time every summer to wrestling training to maintain body flexibility, coordination, and core explosiveness, which were foundational for his internal and external mastery on the basketball court.
The scene of Gan Guoyang body-slamming Karl Malone in the 1992 Western Conference Finals, O’Neal wasn’t sure how many times he had seen it on TV.
Every time before facing the Utah Jazz, O’Neal would watch it to boost his confidence against Karl Malone.
Now, O’Neal had to figure out a way to beat up Ah Gan. O’Neal felt he must be crazy, and Beelman too.
"How should I fight? With fists? Wrestling? Or just pin him down? Shit... I wish I had a gun."
"I could punch him once and then hold a gun to my head and say, if you hit back, I’ll blow my own brains out..."
O’Neal was lost in wild thoughts, while Gan Guoyang had no idea what O’Neal was thinking, as he was fully immersed in the game.
The beginning of the second quarter was fiercely contested, and although Beelman’s Lakers lacked the cohesive spirit that the Trail Blazers once had to overpower opponents, they were strategically well-coached.
Jide was a very smart player, and Beelman had experience coaching top point guards like Stockton and Terry Porter, so his communication with the point guard was never a problem.
Beelman worked hard to build a dynamic tactical system with flexibility, centered around the point guard. Jide had strong outside step-break capabilities, creating a huge threat whether attacking the basket himself or passing to teammates after breaking through.
At the same time, his hands were extremely quick, with strong steal capabilities, excelling at immediate counter-steals or interception in the middle, often giving opposing point guards a headache.
This comprehensive skill set made him very similar to Magic Johnson, which made Jerry West willing to tank for a year to secure a high pick for Jide.
Larry Bird sent in the strong Riddle and the young Kobe to specifically defend Jide with different styles, to limit his performance on the court.
Jide was suppressed for a few rounds, but he quickly adjusted, responding well with passing, positioning, and his personal offense.
He helped the Lakers stay within points reach until O’Neal, Ah Gan, and other main players returned to the court, reaching the end phase of the first half.
Jide knew O’Neal was back, and it was time to slow down the pace and give O’Neal a few plays in the paint.
Earlier, he noticed that Beelman had been "instructing" O’Neal, the coach seemed quite animated.
And O’Neal’s gaze had shifted from confusion to clarity, obviously, he had figured something out, and Shaq was bound to respond.
The relationship between Jide and O’Neal was just average, both of them were somewhat defiant against each other in their hearts, Jide thought O’Neal was childish and petty, and O’Neal thought Jide was arrogant and uninteresting.
However, on the court, they acknowledged each other’s strength. With O’Neal around, Jide could easily slow down whenever he wanted, simply feeding the ball to O’Neal and standing on the perimeter smoking a cigarette.
The same was true for O’Neal, as long as he appeared in the right spot, Jide’s passes could always arrive immediately, allowing him to launch an attack on the basket without much effort.
Just like Magic Johnson and Jabbar, they were great partners, given time and proper collaboration, the Western Conference would be theirs.
Now they needed to work together to challenge the old kings of the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers became the kings of the Western Conference by stepping over the Lakers’ corpse, now it was the Lakers’ turn for revenge.
The Christmas game was just the prologue.
Jide passed the ball to O’Neal in his familiar low left position.