In this world, all things that start with failure tend to fail more easily as they go on; those that start with success tend to succeed more easily later on.
O’Neal won the championship, but he’s been hesitating too long over getting past Ah Gan. He can’t keep lying to himself forever, can he?
Glory Team’s first offense was very organized, unfolding in a standard Princeton System.
Starting with Arenas bringing the ball past half court, he passed it to Gan Guoyang at the 45-degree angle, with Miller pulling out to the right-side perimeter to set a screen.
After several repeated moves, Miller caught the ball one step inside the three-point line. O’Neal didn’t come out, and Miller made a mid-range jump shot, scoring the first point of the game.
Glory’s half-season of studying the Princeton System has definitely paid off.
Brad Miller is quite suited for this offensive system. He can shoot mid- to long-range, pass the ball, and coordinate well, and his playing style is very similar to the later Sabonis. Gan Guoyang finds it effortless to cooperate with him.
The Lakers’ triangle offense began with O’Neal holding the ball in the low post.
O’Neal suddenly noticed that it wasn’t Ah Gan defending him, but Miller?
He relaxed immediately, took the ball, dribbled twice, turned his back, and attacked strongly, making a hook shot that scored two points!
The Staples Center erupted in joy as the scoring O’Neal quickly ran back to defend, shouting to Ah Gan: "Why aren’t you the one defending me? Why? You guys need to show me more respect!"
The fat man got a little sunshine and started shining; just a moment ago during the jump ball, his face was dark, as if he owed five million.
Finding he didn’t have to match up against Ah Gan pleased him, showing that his mindset still isn’t mature.
The game started with both sides playing cautiously. After each scored a basket, they continued to miss on offensive plays.
The Lakers’ starters were O’Neal, Tracy McGrady, Fisher, Pippen, and Holi.
During the regular season, they used Samaki Walker, but come playoffs, Jackson definitely starts Holi.
After a few tight rounds, Holi scored another point with a catch-and-shoot mid-range jumper.
Then, Glory made a mistake on offense, with Arenas’s pass being stolen.
He underestimated the intensity and focus of the playoffs, making his passing intentions too obvious, allowing Pippen to intercept.
The Lakers launched a fast break counterattack, passing the ball to Tracy McGrady, who caught it and soared for a successful dunk!
The Staples Center roared, and the Lakers’ defensive counterattack was extremely sharp, making it very hard for the opponents to stop.
This is determined by their lineup; apart from O’Neal, the other four starters for the Lakers are tall and strong wing-guard players.
Including Derek Fisher, whom Chinese fans fondly call "Little Fish," though he’s not tall, he’s certainly not small in build.
He’s very strong, with well-developed upper body muscles, sometimes able to hold his own against many interior players without losing out even in low-post battles.
Phil Jackson constructed a very tough wing-guard defensive line on the perimeter, not only prepared for Ah Gan but also for all the attackers in the league.
Arenas, Bell, and Wallace are still too young, playing their first playoffs, lacking a strong sense of the intensity.
First, they got the ball stolen at the start, and then another error in offense followed, with Wallace’s pass to Gan Guoyang in the interior being thrown too high under Pippen’s interference.
On the other side, Tracy McGrady grabbed the ball, the Lakers retaliated, and Tracy McGrady dribbled like a butterfly fluttering through flowers, bypassing the Radiant Players.
Then, he quickly stopped near the free throw line and made a jump shot, scoring another basket, getting four points in a row! The Lakers led 6:2.
After scoring, Tracy McGrady gently blew on his arm, as if cooling down a gun barrel, with the Lakers showing strong momentum at the start.
However, the experienced Gan Guoyang immediately caught the ball and took a straight three-point shot at a 45-degree angle on the right! Scored!
The once boiling arena immediately cooled down significantly; this sneak attack shot worked wonders.
The strategy Glory set before the match was to definitely exploit three-point shots and reduce unnecessary consumption on both sides of the ball.
What’s considered unnecessary consumption is too much physical contact, excessive scrambling, and being too obsessed with fighting for every possession.
This was what Bobby Berman valued: efficiency, which is also what the current Boston Celtics stand for.
All actions in basketball should be viewed in the long run, observing the entire game rather than obsessing over gains and losses in one or two plays.
Gan Guoyang’s three-pointer steadied the team, as O’Neal received the ball inside at the midline, turned, and made a floating shot that scored.
Brad Miller is certainly unable to defend O’Neal, but Glory is not in a hurry to double-team, continuing to exchange blows with the Lakers.
Overall, both teams played relatively restrained in the first quarter, each following their predetermined strategies.
The Lakers’ set offense centered around O’Neal, and when they got fast-break chances, Tracy McGrady served as the team’s engine.
Defensively, they persisted with half-court defense, refraining from intense confrontations, focusing on cutting off Glory’s passing lanes and not double-teaming or applying special defense to Gan Guoyang.
Jackson’s strategy was balanced and straightforward, as their greater overall strength meant they naturally took the right path.
Glory gradually revealed their unorthodox approach, with their set offense involving lots of cuts and receiving attacks on the basket.
Miller and Jerald Wallace, the emerging forces, always rushed when they got the ball. Among them, Miller drew a defensive foul from O’Neal once.
This was a significant achievement, causing O’Neal to be cautious in his basket defense for the rest of the first quarter.
Arenas, Gan Guoyang, and Bell took three-point shots with unusual resolve, always shooting directly in fast-break counterattacks.