In fact, the characteristics of O’Neal determine that he is a powerful, but expensive weapon that requires professional maintenance.
Just like the German Tiger tank has the most powerful force, but it has very high requirements for logistical support, is picky about the battlefield environment, and has insufficient production.
In comparison, the Soviet T-34 is not as powerful in all aspects as the German weapons, but it is sturdy and durable, very balanced, has low logistical requirements, and strong environmental adaptability, with huge production.
Del Harris undoubtedly didn’t grasp the essence of this, he still followed the traditional coaching approach, requiring the best player on the team to do the most and strive for perfection.
O’Neal felt something was not right, but his character has traits of a traditional superstar, even if he is a big kid who never grew up.
If he didn’t do well enough and the team lost, he had to take full responsibility, instead of saying that his stats were the best but his teammates didn’t play well, and he was not at fault.
Before the start of Game 5, O’Neal, under great pressure, found it hard to calm down. He made a decision to call Ah Gan and ask what he should do in this situation.
Surprisingly, among all the centers in the league, including those retired superstars, Ah Gan is actually the one with whom O’Neal has the best relationship.
Although they don’t often hang out together, and although O’Neal suffered quite a bit from Guoyang on the court, O’Neal’s favorite is Guoyang because Guoyang also really likes him.
In the last season, Guoyang knocked O’Neal out with a punch, and they didn’t know each other until they fought.
When O’Neal shot a Reebok commercial, he invited many legendary centers to appear together.
Chamberlain, Russell, Walton, Jabbar, and others made appearances, and Reebok paid them a sufficiently high appearance fee.
This idea was proposed by O’Neal, who hoped for a sense of legacy.
But in fact, other than Bill Russell becoming good friends with O’Neal, the other three superstars were not interested in O’Neal.
Especially Jabbar and Chamberlain, the two former Lakers legends, who remained lukewarm to the Shark even after O’Neal signed with the Lakers, being indifferent.
Obviously, Chamberlain and Jabbar did not like or appreciate the younger O’Neal’s jokester personality, and O’Neal never received any guidance from Jabbar while at the Lakers.
It should be noted that after Jabbar retired, he frequently returned to the Lakers training ground to guide the Lakers’ centers, but it stopped when it came to O’Neal.
Wilt Chamberlain often appeared in Los Angeles, and once O’Neal encountered Chamberlain in a restaurant, but Chamberlain acted as if he didn’t see him and didn’t greet him at all.
O’Neal is really petty, I spent money to invite you to shoot commercials, adding income and fun to your retirement life, but you don’t care about me at all?
So later, O’Neal simply cut off contact with the Lakers’ super centers, not participating in any events they invited him to, and never seeking their help when encountering problems and difficulties.
Instead, it was Russell, this rival Celtics center, who greatly appreciated O’Neal, though much of Russell’s experience was already outdated for O’Neal.
Moreover, many things can only be experienced personally; once expressed in words, it is difficult for the other party to understand, which is especially true for Russell.
And Ah Gan, the opponent O’Neal feared the most in his career, and the insurmountable mountain, actually gave O’Neal the most help.
O’Neal knew that once this series was finished, if he won, he would have to go to Portland to be tortured, but he still couldn’t help calling Ah Gan before the game to request guidance.
Gan Guoyang was a bit surprised to receive the call, but instead of taking the opportunity to mock O’Neal, he carefully pointed out various issues O’Neal faced in the series.
"The key issue is not you, but that Del Harris shouldn’t make you do too many things you are not good at. He should protect you more on the defensive end."
"I understand his point, he hopes you can do the best on both offense and defense, that’s the ideal situation. But the times have changed, playing to your strengths and avoiding weaknesses is the way. If the coach doesn’t realize this, then you have to understand and think it through yourself."
"Your offense is more important than your defense, you need to completely mobilize your teammates from the fifth position instead of just focusing on your scoring. How many points can you really score in a game? You must completely destroy the Suns’ defense, I believe you understand this principle, there will be no problem in Game 5."
"I’ll be waiting for you in Portland."
Gan Guoyang’s words helped O’Neal regain his confidence.
Subsequently, in the fifth game between the Lakers and the Suns, O’Neal displayed his strongest combat power.
He scored 40 points, 17 rebounds, and added 8 assists, single-handedly destroying the Suns’ fragile three-second zone defense.
The Lakers secured a dominant home victory of 112:91, advancing to the second round with a 3:2 series win.
Notably, Hu Weidong, who came off the bench, made 3 out of 4 shots, contributing 8 points and 2 rebounds in this game.
This was Hu Weidong’s first field goal in the playoffs, and he became the second Chinese player in NBA history to score in the playoffs.
Winning against the Suns temporarily quieted the criticism against O’Neal, but after the excitement of victory, O’Neal calmed down and realized he was about to face an even bigger challenge:
In the second round, he would face Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers.
He suddenly wondered if this was a trap set by Ah Gan for him?
Encouraging him to win the first round and advance to the second round, only to humiliate him in the semifinals?
Thinking of this possibility, O’Neal’s once high spirits immediately fell.