Before the game, Phil Jackson repeatedly reminded O’Neal, hoping to relax his mindset.
In the summer, after O’Neal learned that Jackson would be the Lakers head coach, he made a special visit to Jackson’s home.
Then he started having a great time playing on the trampoline in Jackson’s yard.
A three-hundred-pound guy on a trampoline was felt miles away.
Neighbors came over to watch, O’Neal had dinner at Jackson’s house, and the two talked at length.
As they envisioned the next season, O’Neal kept saying, "Next season will definitely be full of fun."
From then on, Jackson understood O’Neal’s mental core: he needs fun, needs entertainment, needs someone to play with him.
A star like him must be cajoled and praised, never thought of suppressing him; the right amount of encouragement is enough.
In the first four games, O’Neal delivered dominant performances, especially the game against the Dallas Mavericks, with 32 points and 20 rebounds, completely overwhelming the Mavericks’ interior.
Jackson set a target for O’Neal, hoping he could win the regular-season MVP this season; it should belong to O’Neal.
So from summer training camp to the start of the new season, O’Neal’s attitude has been much more earnest than before.
After hearing Jackson’s words, he nodded earnestly, standing at center court ready to jump ball against Sabonis.
After being tormented by Gan Guoyang these years, O’Neal’s mindset was already tempered, telling himself, "I’ve fought with Ah Gan," the current NBA number one.
With Rodman’s assistance, O’Neal can focus more on offense; before the season started, his weight once reached 350 pounds, now it’s returned to a more normal level.
Looking at his physique, 330 pounds is a certainty; this is absolutely an unprecedented super-heavy bomb.
In the jump ball, O’Neal pushed past Sabonis, Ron Harper got the ball, starting their first offense.
The Lakers started cautiously, adhering to the slow-paced style of the former Chicago Bulls, neither hurried nor slow.
Jackson believed his style could defeat the Trail Blazers, but the issue lay in the Bulls’ guard-forward dominant system, not the Trail Blazers’ interior system opponent.
After joining the Lakers, which made O’Neal the absolute core, Jackson believed the situation could reverse; Ah Gan’s decline was imminent.
The Trail Blazers started by using their old methods against O’Neal—Sabonis defending one-on-one, no double-teaming, no help defense, preventing O’Neal from linking with his outside teammates.
However, O’Neal had made significant improvements compared to previous seasons, while Sabonis’ one-on-one defense capability had notably declined.
At 27 years old versus 35 years old, the dynamics shifted, reducing Sabonis’ ability to limit O’Neal one-on-one greatly.
Thus, in the first few possessions of the first quarter, O’Neal shot 4 of 3 over Sabonis, quickly scoring 6 points and opening up the situation.
Meanwhile, on the Trail Blazers’ side, to conserve some energy for the crucial stages later on, Gan Guoyang handed offensive duties to Kobe.
However, Kobe struggled against the dual defensive lock of Kidd and Harper, besides missing shots, he also committed two turnovers.
In half a quarter, the Lakers led 11:5, the Trail Blazers scoring 5 points only through Sabonis’ one-on-one play and Gan Guoyang’s three-pointers.
This offensive efficiency was the current state of the Trail Blazers; the kind of overwhelming offense from the 1997-1998 season simply couldn’t be replicated.
Firstly, their inability to hit outside three-pointers was a fatal flaw; in the 1997-1998 season, Chris Mullin’s counterattack threes were as accurate as if hacked.
How about now? Mullin, shaved bald and having drunk beer all summer, sat on the bench quietly watching the game, perhaps contemplating where to have a drink after the game.
Replacing Mullin was Alan Henderson, younger, taller, with better physical attributes, yet still a traditional three-four position swingman.
His three-point ability was zero, with zero attempts last season, a player entirely incapable of shooting threes.
In fact, Bird trading Riddle for Henderson didn’t seem to be a good deal; the weakness of not being able to shoot threes made Henderson’s position very awkward.
Also, during his time with the Hawks, Henderson played power forward more, adept at 45-degree single ball handling and cutting to the basket for layup scores.
After joining the Trail Blazers, his role at the starting small forward wasn’t clear, struggling with Carlisle’s offensive system.
With ineffective offense and defense unable to stop O’Neal, Carlisle called a timeout for adjustments.
After the timeout, the same approach continued, Gan Guoyang stood out, scoring consistently from low positions to stabilize the situation.
But the Lakers’ offense and defense system was already in motion, O’Neal was on, Kidd began threading the needle, using his organization to find breakthroughs.
Phil Jackson didn’t rigidly impose the Triangle Offense entirely on the Lakers; he knew Kidd was a crucial point not to overlook.
In the Bulls’ Triangle Offense, the Point Guard’s role was simple: dribble past half-court, defend, shoot from the top scorer.
But Lakers’ offense couldn’t let Kidd merely play a functional Point Guard role; Kidd inevitably needed a high ball-handling duty.
Phil Jackson, leveraging his reputation as the league’s biggest persuader, engaged Kidd extensively, persuading him to give up the fast pace and focus on organizing in the half-court.
Moreover, Jackson applied his genius tactical imagination, telling Kidd, "Actually, you can organize even without the ball," euphemistically dubbed "off-ball organization"!