Chapter Thirty-Five: Intentional and Unintentional Calculations

  O'Neal was furious, he really was furious. He never imagined that this game would be dominated by Duncan's kid, and it was a back-to-back game. Before the game started, whether he accepted TV interviews or newspaper interviews, when asked about Duncan, he always said he wanted to teach Duncan a lesson. But after this goal, if he didn't respond, how would the media report tomorrow? He is not a rookie in college, and in the few years since entering the NBA, he has learned a lot, at least he knows how the media will attract attention. He absolutely does not allow such things to happen.

  He must avenge himself, he must get it back. This is now the only thought in O'Neil's mind.

  "John, give me the ball," O'Neal said, making a beeline for the basket to find Duncan, who then found Stockton for the pass.

  Stockton made a good pass and O'Neal received the ball comfortably, ready to use his signature move, backing in and then hooking over.

  "It seems Shaq is angry, this game is getting interesting" As a member of the Dream Team, Stockton was enjoying the game as a spectator on the court.

  Just as O'Neal received the ball, something surprising happened.

  "Huh? O'Neal took a deep breath, he had tried several times to push Duncan away with his back, but surprisingly, he couldn't push him away. How could Duncan's physique not be pushed away? Unbelieving, O'Neal continued to add force, but still had no effect, only slightly pushing forward half a step, then adding more force again, until the strength couldn't be added anymore, yet still unable to easily push forward, stuck, actually stuck, what was going on? O'Neal's heart was greatly shocked."

  "David, didn't I see it wrong? Shaq can't even take down that skinny little guy? What's his background?" Olajuwon was shocked again on the sidelines. He knew O'Neal's strength best, and last year he swept the Magic to win the championship. Even if he encountered O'Neal, he could only outsmart him, not overpower him. In the 1995 Finals, he led a group of veteran players to defeat O'Neal's young team by exploiting his inexperience. This was the first time he had met a player who dared to go head-to-head with O'Neal, and coupled with that dunk last time, Olajuwon couldn't help but be more interested in Duncan. However, he hasn't been paying much attention to the NCAA lately because his alma mater, the University of Houston, has not been doing well recently.

  "Hakim, you don't need to ask me, I'm not very familiar with him either." The Admiral wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Ah, my sister, the old one hasn't retired yet, and a new one has come, when will my champion finally have a chance? He couldn't help but scold in his heart. Although he is also an NBA top star, there's Michael Jordan pressing down on him, besides Jordan, there's O'Neal beside him, and even recently, compared to O'Neal on the court, he's not enough. Now another great player has appeared, what will happen next? Will the three great centers become four in the future? In the Admiral's heart, the NBA has never had a "four great centers" title. The person from New York is one level lower than him and O'Neal, but this Duncan has made him feel a sense of crisis.

  "Tim, in this game I hope you can defend against O'Neal with all your might, just like competing with him in strength, don't let him easily turn around or jump up, go hard against him, if he uses his strong arm to hook, you cover him." Duncan recalled Zhu Feng's instructions before the game, at that time he was still a bit worried whether he could hold up against O'Neal, but today's game was somehow unexpectedly good, and he was actually able to hold up against O'Neal, which also greatly boosted his confidence.

  So Duncan is getting more and more energetic, while O'Neal is getting more and more impatient. In the end, he couldn't help but lean on Duncan to prepare for a strong start without reaching the designated position and sufficient space.

  When Duncan saw O'Neal preparing to force a shot, his eyes lit up and he said the same thing to Zhuang Fei. He immediately prepared to jump up and block the shot.

  The ball hadn't even reached its peak when O'Neal watched helplessly as Duncan slapped the basketball out to the three-point line with a big palm.

  "What a high bounce, what a fast bounce speed, what an amazing arm span, and the defensive awareness is really fierce, has already predicted that Shaq will strongly rise" The US team's head coach Lenny Wilkens exclaimed. Even if O'Neal's jump turn was not sufficient, even if O'Neal's shot was a bit difficult, it's not something that anyone can cover. If he thought the previous ride was an accident, then this time Duncan's defense is absolutely a manifestation of his strength. Being able to comprehensively suppress O'Neal on the defensive end, he has never encountered this before. This made him consider recruiting Duncan into the Dream Team.

  Just as these basketball professionals were stunned by Duncan's defense, the on-site fans let out a burst of cheers.

  The ball that was just blocked by Duncan flew to the middle of Carter and Hill, both of whom touched the ball almost at the same time and fell down together. However, Carter was a bit more agile than Hill, got up earlier, picked up the ball and rushed forward. Although slower than Carter, Hill did not give up and prepared to cover Carter's layup or one-handed dunk from behind. But Carter seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, knowing Hill's intention, and didn't choose to go for a layup, nor a single-handed dunk, but instead took off directly with both hands flying from just inside the free throw line, his body stretching out extremely and his posture extremely beautiful. Even Hill, who was ready to pounce behind him, couldn't help but praise: "What a beauty!"

  "Vincent, am I seeing things? Virginia Tech is actually dominating the US team!" Charles Paul exclaimed in disbelief from the stands. Vincent beside him was equally stunned and at a loss for words. They were not alone; every fan in attendance, whether from Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech, wore the same expression.

  "If we lose to a team like this, what reason do we have to blame others?" Some Georgia Tech fans began to ponder.

  "Tim, if the team doesn't have a fast break opportunity, you must strictly follow the triangular offense pattern. I need you to mention high position more during the offense. If no one is defending you, attack by yourself; if someone comes to defend, you should know what to do. In positional offense, we still play triangular offense, and this time, I require that every attacking ball in positional offense must go through Tim's hands once, he is our offensive axis."

  "Wally, this time you're facing a strong opponent, their defense is strong and offense is also strong. When defending, I didn't make any special arrangements, but when attacking, you must be decisive. If Carter and Duncan attract the defender's double team, you must shoot decisively. If you don't shoot from an open position, I'll substitute you out."

  "Raja, when you're on offense, be like Wally, take bold shots when you have the chance."

  "I hope you can show everything we've practiced throughout the entire season."

  The players of Weixing Forest have all received hints from Zhuang Fei, and as the game progresses, Zhuang Fei's reminders one by one become a reality.

  "Extremely high basketball IQ" Since the opening, Lenny Wilkens has been staring at Duncan, and the more he looks, the more he likes him. Especially when he sees him organizing his teammates to attack without blindly seeking a one-on-one with O'Neal, Wallace's three-point shot is also commendable, Lagabere's defense against Reggie Miller is excellent, Carter's offense is also gorgeous, but in his heart, the most dazzling on the court is still Duncan.

  "It seems Shaq has completely lost his cool, the iron fist that was supposed to be effective on Duncan is now useless." The US team fell behind, but coach Lenny Wilkens didn't rush to make substitutions. The US team had such an aura of dominance that they only needed to stick to their normal rotation.

  "Wow, are we really leading now? And by this much?! The first quarter is almost over and we're actually leading by 10 points?! Oh my god, am I dreaming?!?" Mark Allen was ecstatic with incredulity, but beside him, Zhu Fei didn't have a joyful expression because there was still something extremely difficult waiting for him afterwards.

  "Isaiah, don't you think the game is suspenseful now?" said Jordan, who was watching from the sidelines with a mixture of surprise and delight.

  "Hmm" Isaiah hummed and continued, "Mike, you're also getting ahead of yourself. With your level, you shouldn't not know what the biggest difference is between the US team and Vickson Forest, right?"

  Jordan showed a similar expression to Zhuang Fei, although he was somewhat disdainful of Isaiah Thomas's words.