The dome lights of the New Garden cascaded down, and the roar of more than 20,000 home fans in green T-shirts was enough to make any away team's ears ring.
With three minutes to go before Game 2 of the NBA Finals began, the atmosphere on the Los Angeles Lakers ' bench was as cold and heavy as frozen ice.
The crushing defeat in the last game completely exposed how vicious Boston's defensive system is. They didn't choose the traditional double-teaming, but instead used Ben Wallace to confront O'Neal one-on-one. As long as Big Ben could withstand O'Neal's first impact, the Boston forwards, who had all shrunk to the edge of the paint because they had left Kidd and Marion open, would pounce like a pack of wolves smelling blood, interfering with vision, stealing the ball, and blocking passing lanes.
This turned the Lakers ' half-court offense into a nightmare. Every time O'Neal got the ball, he had to engage in an extremely fierce physical battle with Big Ben. If he hesitated even slightly, Garnett or Pierce would steal the ball from him from the sidelines.
Phil Jackson stood among the starting players, holding a clipboard. His gaze passed over Kidd and landed on O'Neal, who was putting an ice pack on his knee.
"In the last game, Boston's defensive strategy worked." Jackson's voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear. "Ben Wallace is a tough nut to crack. If we continue to play a set-piece game and wait for them to get into position, our advantage won't be realized."
Jackson drew an arrow on the whiteboard in the backcourt, pointing straight to the frontcourt. "So, tonight we're going to break their defensive setup. With speed."
He turned to Kidd, Marion, and Odom: " Jason ( Kidd ), Sean ( Marion ), Lamar ( Odom ), Quentin ( Richardson ). As soon as you get the defensive rebound, you guys start a fast break! Don't wait for Shaq!"
"Four men charging?" Kidd looked at the tactics board, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"That's right." Jackson nodded. "Use your speed to finish the attack before Boston's defense gets back into position and before Ben Wallace and Garnett drop into the paint! If the fast break goes in, Shaq doesn't even need to cross half-court; he can stay in the backcourt to prepare for defense, which will save his energy."
Jackson pointed with the tip of his pen at O'Neal, who was slowly following up as a "sweeper center" on the whiteboard, and his eyes sharpened. "If the fast break doesn't happen, Boston's formation will inevitably be thrown into disarray in their emergency retreat. At that point, they won't be able to perfectly set up their ' Big Ben's one-on-one defense plus collapsing harassment' defensive wall."
"Then I'll take my position." O'Neal grinned, revealing a cruel smile; he understood.
"Right." Jackson closed his marker. "While they're disorganized and their matchups are messed up, Shaq, you go punish them in the low post."
beep--!
The referee blew his whistle, and the basketball was tossed high into the air towards the ceiling.
Ben Wallace tipped the ball in the jump ball, but on Boston's first possession, Pierce's turnaround jump shot from mid-range bounced off the rim.
Lamar Odom leaped high to secure the defensive rebound. The instant his feet touched the ground, three Los Angeles Lakers perimeter players shot towards the frontcourt like arrows.
Boston's retreat was swift, with Artest and Garnett quickly sprinting backcourt. But the Lakers were unstoppable; Kidd received a pass from Odom beyond the three-point line and, without hesitation, delivered a bounce pass to the middle.
Marion started from the free-throw line, facing Pierce who was still unsteady on his feet, and flicked the ball into the basket with one hand.
At this moment, O'Neal strolled leisurely to the vicinity of the center circle. Seeing Marion score, the Big Shark stopped and turned to jog back to his defensive half.
" The Lakers have changed their offensive strategy!" On the commentary desk, Beal Walton immediately noticed the change. "A very clear four-man fast break! Shaq is left in the backcourt, and Phil Jackson is using his perimeter mobility to get the game started!"
In the next round, Boston still failed to score.
Kidd grabbed the long rebound and again launched a 4-on-5 sprint. This time, Boston was on guard, and Garnett and Ben Wallace quickly collapsed into the paint, blocking Marion's cuts.
The fast break didn't materialize, but Kidd made a sudden stop at the top of the arc and firmly controlled the ball.
At this moment, in an emergency retreat to block a fast break, Ben Boston was pulled to the strong side to defend Odom, who had the ball, while Garnett was taken to the baseline corner by Marion. A large defensive vacuum appeared Wallace Boston's previously tight defense.
O'Neal, who was slowly crossing half-court, stepped into the three-point line at that very moment.
His massive frame drove straight into Boston's disorganized paint, directly blocking the only defender in front of him, Chris Paul Pierce, who was only a little over two meters tall. At that moment, Big Ben was near the three-point line and had no time to get back to defend the paint.
Kidd's pass arrived as expected. Facing Pierce's one-on-one defense, O'Neal didn't even need to exert himself like he did against Big Ben. He simply turned around easily and finished with a brutal two-handed dunk over Pierce!
For the next five minutes, the Lakers executed their four-man fast break and center-back strategy to perfection. When they scored, O'Neal rested in the backcourt. When they missed, O'Neal would take advantage of the chaos to get into position and take on the Boston forwards who didn't have time to switch on defense.
With seven minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Lakers led 21-12.
On the Boston bench, assistant coach Casey leaned close to Rick Carlisle, his voice tinged with anxiety. " Rick, the Lakers ' transition offense has completely broken down our formation!"
Sitting in the back row, Lin Qi watched the composed O'Neal on the court, his brow furrowing slightly. Phil Jackson was indeed a master; this move was extremely ingenious, not only perfectly utilizing Kidd's strengths but also maximizing O'Neal's impact.
But he saw that Rick Carlisle remained seated steadily in the folding chair, without even changing the way his arms were crossed.
"Don't panic." Rick Carlisle's eyes were fixed on the field, his voice calm and collected. "The tactics are correct, but their stamina can't sustain this kind of high-intensity sprinting for the entire game. They want to blow up the game as quickly as possible, but we won't let them have their way."
Rick Carlisle stood up and walked to the sidelines. He simply made a downward gesture towards Gary Payton and Artest on the court.
"Get physical on defense!" Rick Carlisle yelled. "Stop them from the three-point line! Don't let them get going!"
The real strangulation began quietly in the last two minutes of the first quarter.
When Kidd tried to launch another blitzkrieg from the backcourt, Gary Payton didn't even try to grab the offensive rebound; he had already retreated to the midcourt line as soon as the ball left the court.
As soon as Kidd received the ball and started to accelerate, Gary Payton stuck to him like glue. He lowered his center of gravity and used his hard chest to directly collide with Kidd's path of travel.
Kidd was jolted by the impact. In that fraction of a second of pause, Artest used the same move to tightly entangle Odom, who was trying to make a quick run down the court.
The window of opportunity for a fast break was completely closed by Boston's aggressive early intervention.
Left with no other option, Kidd slowed down. He gritted his teeth, looking at the Boston defense that was poised for action. The half-court formation that had filled them with despair— Big Ben was already in position in the center of the penalty area, while the other four players were huddled on the flanks, ready to pounce—this defensive formation was once again before their eyes.
Kidd turned around and looked behind him. O'Neal had just slowly walked across half-court. In the past few minutes, he could easily exploit mismatches in the chaos, but now, Boston had plenty of time to get back into position.
The Lakers ' nightmare is about to begin again.