This is one of the major reasons for O’Neal’s deficiencies in character: he has never competed against players stronger than himself.
He is always taller and stronger than everyone else, and by a wide margin. On the court, he is always the most imposing figure.
All the plays for him are theoretically in his favor; no one can withstand him. He doesn’t have to struggle in adversity, never needs to think about "winning with fewer, conquering the strong with the weak," that’s a problem for others to consider.
As a result, O’Neal lacks some resilience on the court, while off the court, he exhibits a lot of flamboyance and playfulness, mixed with a giant’s sense of inferiority, which when magnified, often leads to emotional outcomes.
The last person similar to O’Neal was Wilt Chamberlain, who had the same godlike power and was also a leviathan on the court, far exceeding others in physique and strength.
Chamberlain was missing a lot of resilience in his character; he was too clean to commit fouls, unwilling to perform dirty work, afraid of injury, and often shrank at critical moments.
Off the court, he was involved in thousands of affairs, trying every sport, volleyball, boxing, Harlem Basketball Team, playing around everywhere.
Therefore, when O’Neal encounters defenders like Gan Guoyang or Malone, who do not fall behind in strength, he often appears very uncomfortable.
Gan Guoyang clearly indicated that he won’t use small tricks, but will face it head-on, challenging O’Neal to bring it on.
O’Neal held his breath, using his weight and inner rotation to try to push Gan Guoyang away to the basket.
As a result, after turning, he couldn’t continue to push inward; Gan Guoyang stood firm, unmoving under the basket.
O’Neal attempted to go up hard, but his dunk was blocked by Gan Guoyang, flipping him over to the ground.
The ball didn’t slip from his hands; Gan Guoyang bent down to fight for it, and the referee raised both thumbs, signaling for a jump ball.
"Why think about dunking? Aren’t you using your secret weapon?" Gan Guoyang asked O’Neal.
"Because it’s a secret weapon, it can’t be used casually," O’Neal retorted stubbornly.
Jump ball at the free-throw circle, Gan Guoyang touched the ball and directed it to Sabonis.
As soon as Sabonis received the ball, he slung it to the frontcourt, where Mullin caught it and passed to Riddle cutting through the middle.
Riddle prepared to dunk directly, but unexpectedly, Tracy McGrady leaped high from behind and swatted the ball out of bounds.
A beautiful pass and an equally beautiful defense.
The first and second in the Western Conference were playing exceptionally exciting and intense from the start of the first quarter.
Tonight, it seems unlikely for the Trail Blazers to easily defeat the Lakers.
They also need a tough fight, to grind their teeth on hard bones.
McGrady’s spectacular block stirred the eagerness in Kobe on the sidelines.
Kobe was itching to get on the court and match up against McGrady; young players’ competitiveness is very strong.
Gan Guoyang set a screen for Mullin, and Mullin scored again from mid-range at the baseline; his touch was good tonight.
On the Lakers’ side, O’Neal received the ball in a shallow position but didn’t dare to go head-to-head again, passing it to Holi.
Holi, against Mullin’s defense, shot a direct three-pointer and scored!
In the playoff series of Rockets against Trail Blazers, Holi’s strong outside three-pointers caused certain trouble for the Trail Blazers.
The score was tied, and in the following rounds, both teams had high shooting percentages.
Gan Guoyang hit from mid-range at the top, while O’Neal seized an opportunity for an offensive rebound to score a dunk.
O’Neal is indeed smart; he’s calm now, and despite his fears, his choices are correct.
Starting with a long-range hook shot, if he can’t make a move in the low post, he won’t force it, opting to screen for teammates and push in for an offensive rebound to attack again.
If aggressive offense doesn’t work against Ah Gan, isn’t scavenging options? Is it not okay to dodge and play?
For the first time, Jerry West saw O’Neal playing so rationally, so calmly, and with such team spirit.
For a moment, West was quite gratified, thinking Shaq indeed matured and grew; he knew how to play against the powerful Ah Gan now.
Little did he expect he was just a bit timid.
With fast-paced exchanges, both sides’ scores rose quickly.
At the interval, Trail Blazers led Lakers 19 to 18, with a 1-point advantage.
During rotation time, both teams started making substitutions.
In regular-season games, Bird would always give his players ample playing time.
Kobe replaced Chris Mullin instead of Riddle, as Bird believed the team needed height and athletic ability in the two and three spots to counter the Lakers’ young frontline.
With Holi and McGrady, both around 6 feet 7 inches, they posed significant offensive and defensive threats.
Statistics alone don’t show it, but watching the game process reveals that in offense, they can fast break, shoot, and handle many possessions.
On defense, their height and wingspan are comparable to some interior players; they can provide double-team support, and pose interference, greatly compensating for O’Neal’s defensive coverage issues.
Holi can play the four spot, and McGrady can also defend the four spot if needed — Jerry West chose them specifically for Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers.
Of course, currently, Holi and McGrady can hardly pose a threat to Ah Gan in offensive and defensive battles, but what about two years later, or five years later?
West had personally experienced Ah Gan’s strength and once nurtured a four-peat monster.
Now, to defeat this monster, his greatest weapon wasn’t O’Neal or McGrady and Holi, but patience.
He believed that the day would come when Ah Gan would decline, and by then, the Lakers would fully rise.
After Kobe entered the game and replaced Mullin, the Trail Blazers’ backcourt became more lively, adding more X-factors on the offensive end.