Rondo and Zion spent a day and a half figuring out how to deal with Doug.
But figuring it out wasn't enough. They still had to practice.
They needed someone to play Doug during training.
Back when the Lakers had the OK Combination, Shaquille O'Neal at his peak had dominated the paint and seemed unbeatable.
Even Stone Buddha Duncan in his prime hadn't been able to stop him.
To deal with O'Neal, the Spurs had made Battelle, the Chinese player on their team, play O'Neal during practice.
The Spurs players would then practice against Battelle.
As a result, they'd developed a few ways to deal with O'Neal.
So even though Battelle had barely played during the Spurs' championship run that year, Old Master Bo still considered him one of the team's key contributors.
Now Rondo had Guinness play Doug.
He said to Guinness, "You're going one-on-one with Zion. Remember, you can foul him, and as long as you don't hurt him, the harder you foul, the better."
Guinness glanced at Zion, feeling a little apprehensive.
A skinny, lanky guy like him going one-on-one against Thanos? Wasn't that just asking to get beaten up?
Rondo continued, "Don't worry. You don't need to be afraid of him. You're playing Doug's role. Think about how Doug deals with Zion on the court, and do the same thing."
Guinness thought it over, then nodded. "All right, I'll give it a try."
Rondo shook his head and patted him on the shoulder. "No, not just give it a try. Whether we can figure out how to deal with Doug depends on how ruthless you are with Zion."
Guinness suddenly felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
He nodded solemnly. "Yes, Coach. Don't worry. I'll be even tougher than Doug."
And so Guinness began playing