May 31, 2000, Boston, Celtics training facility.
The theater was packed and completely silent. All the players' eyes were focused on the screen in front of them.
The Western Conference Finals had reached a 3-2 tie. The Lakers took a commanding lead in Game 5, pushing the Portland Trail Blazers to the brink of elimination.
"Tonight, we're watching Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals." Lin Qi stood by the screen, his voice calm yet powerful. " The Trail Blazers have no way out. When a top-tier team is pushed to the brink, they often pull out their last trump card. I need you to open your eyes wide and see clearly... what the Lakers will reveal when they're targeted to the extreme. And what will we learn from that?"
The screen lit up, and the NBC broadcast signal switched in. Inside the Rose Garden Arena, red and white flags billowed like waves, and the deafening roar seemed to penetrate the screen.
"This atmosphere..." Eddie Jones murmured.
"Because they know that if they lose, they have to go home and go fishing," Gary Payton said coldly, chewing his gum.
The video shows the jump ball at the start of the game. Arvydas Sabonis faces off against Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal.
"Pay attention to the Trail Blazers ' defensive positioning." Assistant Coach Thibodeau circled several positions on the screen with a laser pointer. " P.J. Brown has already dropped to the left low post, drastically compressing O'Neal's receiving space. Scottie Pippen is roaming between the free-throw line; they've set up a pocket defense in the paint."
"Because only in this way is there a glimmer of hope," Lin Qi suddenly said, pointing to Big Shark's massive body on the screen. " Shaq is indeed an extremely terrifying monster. As long as he can establish position deep enough, what happens next is him hanging over the defender and slamming the ball into the basket. Everyone in the league knows this is an unsolvable problem. But..."
Lin Qi used a laser pointer to draw a tiny semicircle directly below the basketball hoop.
" O'Neal's offensive range is limited to the area under the basket. Once he leaves the restricted area, his threat level drops drastically. Therefore, the underlying logic for defending O'Neal is twofold: First, do everything in your power to prevent him from easily penetrating the restricted area. Second, even if he gets inside, never let him receive the ball comfortably."
On screen, Lakers' first half-court offense. Derrick Fisher dribbles up the court, gesturing for the Triangle Offense. Kobe sets up on the right wing, Peja Stojakovic crouches in the corner, O'Neal Jr. moves up to the high post, while O'Neal calls for the ball in the low post on the left.
Just as O'Neal was about to secure his position... Old Sabonis lowered his center of gravity and used his massive body to shield O'Neal from behind!
A head-on, all-out defense!
Using his excellent defensive positioning and incredibly solid lower body, Old Sabonis withstood Big Shark's first terrifying physical attack, firmly blocking O'Neal's receiving point outside the safety line. Seeing this, Fisher on the outside tried to feed the ball in from the side, but P.J. Brown had already suddenly collapsed from the weak side, his long arms completely blocking the passing route.
Fisher hesitated for a second, his tactics stalled, and he could only pass the ball to Kobe on the right wing. Kobe received the ball, faced the defense, and forced a turnaround jump shot... "Clang!" The shot missed, Brown grabbed the rebound.
"See that?" Lin Qi raised his voice, "Don't give O'Neal any comfortable chance to receive the ball. Front him, cut off passing lanes, collapse the defense on the weak side for help defense. That's the most effective strategy."
For the next five minutes, the Trail Blazers ' defense was nothing short of insane. Every time O'Neal established position, Old Sabonis would desperately try to guard him. Every time a passing intention was exposed, P.J. Brown would collapse into the defense like a hungry wolf. As soon as the ball got into O'Neal's hands, he would be surrounded by three players.
With half of the first quarter gone, the Big Shark had only scored 2 points.
"They're using a rotation strategy to wear Shaq down this time," Mutombo's deep voice rang out, his eyes sharp. " Sabonis takes a break every three minutes, then Grant or P.J. Brown comes in to continue the physical battle. They don't expect to completely shut down O'Neal; they just want to make every point Big Shark scores as difficult as peeling off a layer of skin."
"Absolutely right." Lin Qi nodded. "That's the first thing we need to learn: use deep inside rotations to wear him down."
"But look at their weaknesses." Lin Qi tapped the screen with his pen. "The Trail Blazers ' interior defense is actually unbalanced. The 35-year- Old Sabonis has size but no footwork; Grant has toughness but is short; P.J. Brown is a defensive stalwart, but his size can't handle a true center. None of them can truly hold off O'Neal for even three seconds. So they rely heavily on double teams and team rotations, with a very low margin for error."
Mutombo nodded thoughtfully. "In other words, every rotation they make must be timely; a misplacement could be disastrous."
"That's right. And we have better conditions than them." Lin Qi looked directly at Mutombo. " Dikembe, you're the best defensive anchor in the paint in the league. You can do things the Trail Blazers can't... in certain possessions, you can guard O'Neal one-on-one."
Mutombo habitually wagged his thick fingers and grinned, "No, no, no, Lin, I can't guard that monster one-on-one for the whole game either. But with Kevin and Rasheed helping me... I should be able to manage."
"That's enough." Lin Qi smiled.
On the screen, O'Neal finally got a very deep position to receive the ball in the low post. Sabonis immediately stepped up, P.J. Brown aggressively double-teamed him from the wing. O'Neal let out a roar, pushed past the two, and prepared to power up for a dunk...
Just before he jumped, P.J. Brown grabbed O'Neal's arm without hesitation, pulling him and the ball down! The referee blew the whistle.
"A selective 'Hack-a-Shaq' strategy," Lin Qi explained. "PJ's timing for the fouls is perfect. Getting Shaq to jump from that position would guarantee two points. But sending him to the free-throw line early becomes a math problem: a 50% success rate, with an expected return of only one point. This trade is extremely worthwhile."
In the video, O'Neal stands at the free-throw line. His first shot bounces off the rim. His second shot goes in cleanly.
Garnett turned to Rasheed and asked, "If you were in Rashid's shoes, what would you have done?"
Rasheed was silent for two seconds before slowly speaking, "PJ is indeed very dedicated... but I also have my own advantages."
He stood up, pointed at the screen, and gestured. "My lateral movement is much faster than his. When O'Neal is boxing out, I'll use my footwork to constantly circle around him and half-circle around him, directly cutting off the passing lane between him and Fisher, forcing him to run back and forth in the penalty area, wearing down his patience first."
"Once he gets the ball..." Rasheed's eyes sharpened, "My double-team won't be a slow, drawn-out attempt to get bumped. I'll use my wingspan to cut directly at him as he gets the ball, forcing him to lift it high and denying him space to generate power. I'll force him to the baseline corner."
"What if he forces himself to jump?" Jones pressed.
Rasheed raised his chin, his tone firm yet decisive. "Then foul. If he dares to jump, I'll tackle him and the ball together. I won't injure him, but I absolutely won't give him even a 1% chance to complete a '2+1' play. Trying to dunk on me? Not so easy."
Lin Qi looked at Rasheed with admiration in his eyes. "Well said, Rasheed. Defending O'Neal, brute force is just the foundation; what's truly lethal is the brain and the details of the confrontation. The Trail Blazers ' strategy is correct, but our execution will be a level above theirs."
The game replay continues. At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers lead 22-18. O'Neal only scored 5 points in the quarter.
" Shaq is being strangled very hard," Garnett commented.
"What's the price?" Lin Qi asked rhetorically, then pressed the play button for several replay clips.
In the footage: O'Neal is triple-teamed and struggles to pass the ball to Peja in the corner, Peja is wide open but misses the three-pointer. On the next possession, Kobe drives to the basket, draws the defense, and passes the ball to the perimeter, giving the Lakers another open shot.
"As long as you heavily concentrate your forces inside, your perimeter will inevitably be open," Lin Qi pointed to the screen. "At that point, you need extremely fast defensive rotations. Look at this guy."
The camera focuses on Scottie Pippen.
The 34-year-old Pippen stood at the top of the arc. When O'Neal was double-teamed, he instantly moved to the weak side, cutting off the passing lane. When Peja received the ball in the corner, he was already there like a ghost, pouncing on the three-point line to contest the shot. When Kobe tried to break through the defense, Pippen appeared in the paint again, completing a brilliant help defense block.
" Scottie Pippen," Lin Qi said with respect, "One of the greatest defensive sweepers in NBA history. What's most terrifying about him is his omnipresent help defense."
Lin Qi used a laser pointer to draw a line along Pippen's movement.
"He was once called a 'filler' (or 'coverer') by Dream Team head coach Chuck Daly. As the name suggests, he could smooth out any weak link in the defense and fill that gap at any time. On the defensive end, he was like a shadow, always there... One second you might see him double-teaming Charles Barkley in the paint, and the next second, he could spring out like a spring and dive right into Danny Ainge's face at the three-point line."
"To achieve such incredible coverage requires exceptional physical talent and basketball IQ... speed, wingspan, height, defensive instincts... none of these can be lacking." Lin Qi turned his head, his gaze fixed intently on Garnett. "Throughout NBA history, there are only a handful of players who can perfectly fulfill this role. Pippen was the first 'filler,' and the second..."
"It's me," Garnett continued.
Garnett stared at Pippen on the screen, a burning ambition in his eyes. He knew very well that Pippen was now more terrifying to him than the 34-year-old Pippen was in terms of mobility, stamina, and absolute coverage.
"That's right." Lin Qi nodded emphatically, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the video room. " The Trail Blazers ' defensive system only works because Pippen is filling in the gaps everywhere. And in the upcoming NBA Finals, Kevin, you'll need to play a similar role to Pippen."