...

Zhang Hao coldly stepped onto the court once more; at this moment, he was an emotionless center.

Joining him were Sedale-Srte, Doug Christie, George Lynch, and Jason Williams.

This is a defense strategy.

Over on the Warriors’ side, Tim Hardaway, Jon Barry, Chris Mulin, Chris Gatling, and Oliver Miller took to the court.

The perimeter is explosively strong, while the interior is not too shabby either.

Zhang Hao heard that the Warriors brought Oliver Miller back in a trade to deal with O’Neal in the finals...

With such a lineup, how could Adelman not be ambitious?

After the timeout, the Warriors attacked.

Tim Hardaway advanced to the frontcourt and glanced at the inside battle between Zhang Hao and Oliver Miller. The difference in their physiques... Zhang Hao actually managed to push Oliver Miller into an awkward position?

Unbelievable!

On the sidelines, Del Harris also felt incredulous. He expected Zhang Hao to wear Oliver Miller down with fronting defense, but Zhang Hao went straight up, using his arm to establish position against Oliver Miller!

This alone was surprising, but even though it was clear Zhang Hao was at a disadvantage, in one confrontation after another, Oliver Miller didn’t hold an absolute advantage. Once Oliver Miller focused on receiving the ball, Zhang Hao managed to use his arm to reclaim some of his position.

Finally, Oliver Miller secured his place. Tim Hardaway sighed inwardly about how playing for so long allowed him to foresee everything, then lobbed the ball out...

At that moment, seemingly helplessly pinned behind Oliver Miller, Zhang Hao suddenly pushed away Oliver Miller’s arm, and like an eel, dodged in front of him, reaching for the ball!

Successful fronting defense!

For Zhang Hao to push Oliver Miller aside, Oliver Miller’s lapse in focus during positioning was the only chance for a slight opening, requiring full effort—yet just one arm, a sudden exertion, and he did it!

Oliver Miller tried to snatch it back, but Zhang Hao seized the ball single-handedly with his right hand, reaching the undefended side boundary, with his left arm blocking.

Skrrrrr...

Beautiful defense! Sedale-Srte came up to support, and Zhang Hao passed the ball out. This defense was truly exhausting!

Oliver Miller did not fare much better; the difficulty in positioning was far beyond the previous matchup! Initially, Oliver Miller had carefully prepared before this game, devised ways to prevent Zhang Hao from fronting during positioning, but he was suddenly startled when Zhang Hao forcefully pushed away his arm to snatch his way through.

Zhang Hao leisurely ran to the frontcourt, positioning himself at the mid-range around the free-throw line to request the ball.

cm, 100 kg, 84 strength... The Warriors’ current interior lineup displayed immense differences in physique and strength.

Having been bullied by Oliver Miller’s strength, Zhang Hao now wanted to vent!

Receiving the ball, he took a few steps to bump Chris Gatling to the three-second zone’s sideline. Zhang Hao’s final bump activated the "King of Turnaround Jumpers" bonus, giving his collision force a +5, sending the tall, slender, shooting-oriented Chris Gatling crashing to the charging zone.

Zhang Hao spun around, without even turning, executed a close-range jump shot, and scored!

His teammates felt Zhang Hao was bullying the opponent!

But Zhang Hao’s unique move was indeed formidable, with very few able to emulate it.

Strength can be trained, but for players with such strength, how many could develop a shot like Zhang Hao? Even though double-teaming could easily stifle him, he was incredibly strong in one-on-one situations!

Switching from offense to defense, the Warriors attacked.

Tim Hardaway was set for a solo play, yet signaled for Oliver Miller to set a screen, restraining Zhang Hao’s rim protection.

Then Tim Hardaway executed a crossover move that left Doug Christie staggered, driving within one step past the free-throw line to score with a floater, adding two points.

Playing against the Warriors, the most troublesome thing is those tactics don’t have much effect—the team relies on star players to score, simple and direct. Warriors’ defense is poor but annoying, especially for teams like the Lakers who enjoy fast breaks, making them dislike facing the Warriors.

As the game proceeded, the Lakers fell behind!

Tim Hardaway, very clever, was aware of how crucial Zhang Hao’s rim protection was for the Lakers’ defense, decisively sacrificing Oliver Miller, turning the player averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds into a mere pawn in the match. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Originally, Del Harris planned to use Zhang Hao to wear Oliver Miller down, which would leave the Warriors without a strong point for solo plays. But it backfired!

Adjusting tactics, psychological games, seizing unexpected chances, targeted arrangements, hot and cold hands—indeed, these all constitute parts of basketball.

Otherwise, just select two players both in good form for a one-on-one showdown, but ultimately, it could devolve into both teams repeatedly stepping up to the free-throw line. The unpredictability is the true charm of competitive sports.

At the end of the first quarter, the Warriors led the Lakers 33-27, entering the interval with a 6-point advantage!

After a 17-11 run, the Warriors delivered a very impressive half-quarter performance.

And it was evident that the Warriors hardly executed any tactics, purely relying on a few perimeter stars.

During the first half, the Madman monopolized the scoring, while in the latter half, the focus shifted to the King of Cross Step and the God’s Left-Hand alternating in solo plays.

Doug Christie suffered through a miserable night as Tim Hardaway—last season tied with John Starks as the Three-Point King, averaging 2.7 threes with a 36% success rate—had his stats decline this season as a substitute, not signifying diminished three-point ability. With some of the best directional shifts in the league, though slightly less flamboyant than before his major injury, he remained the strongest crossover player in the league.