Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

When Shaquille O'Neal managed to score despite being double-teamed, the fans in the arena gasped in surprise.

The Lakers' bench erupted in celebration, waving towels in jubilation.

Even Phil Jackson, the Zen Master, couldn't help but stand up and wave his fist.

O'Neal also used his tough response to suppress the momentum brought by Kobe's alley-oop at the start of the game.

On the other side, the Qilin team's bench.

Everyone frowned and remained silent.

Although Chen Fang was also frowning, he didn't seem particularly anxious.

After all, the match has only just begun, and everything is still under control. Let's see how it goes after a few more rounds.

Transition of possession.

The Kirin team launched a counterattack.

After Nash dribbled past half-court, he passed the ball to Yao Ming, who had moved to the top of the key.

Given Yao Ming's current physique and strength, sending him to battle O'Neal in the paint would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

Therefore, Chen Fang made tactical adjustments, making Yao Ming the pivot on offense, with the others running around Yao Ming to make the most of their outstanding shooting ability.

This is the so-called "one star, four shooters" tactic.

Moreover, with Yao Ming's excellent mid-to-long-range shooting ability, as long as O'Neal doesn't come out to defend, Yao Ming will have the opportunity to fire from the outside.

Once Yao Ming gets into a shooting rhythm from beyond the arc, Chen Fang doesn't believe O'Neal won't come out to defend him.

Once O'Neal comes out, the Lakers' paint becomes open, giving the other Kirin players space to attack the basket.

One star shooting four times is not just about shooting hoops.

The essence of the "one star, four shooters" strategy lies in forcing the opponent's defense to extend outwards through a large number of outside shots, thus creating more space for the team to attack the basket.

Seeing Yao Ming receive the ball beyond the three-point line, O'Neal had no intention of going out. Instead, he stood obediently in the restricted area, waiting for Yao Ming to come to him.

In fact, O'Neal knew that Yao Ming had a decent mid-to-long-range shooting ability.

During the season's tactical meeting, Phil Jackson also emphasized the need to be wary of Yao Ming's shooting.

But Shaquille O'Neal instinctively believed that even the best center could not rely on mid-range and long-range shooting as a regular weapon.

A center, after all, should score under the basket.

How can you act like a short player, floating on the outside and shooting three-pointers?

Yao Ming held the ball, observing his teammates' movements while also watching the Lakers' defense against him.

At this moment, Yao Ming realized that O'Neal was not coming up to defend him at all, as he was in a wide-open position.

What is there to hesitate about?

Yao Ming took a three-pointer directly from beyond the arc.

"Shh!"

The basketball traced a perfect arc through the air before crashing straight into the net!

Three point hit!

5:2

After Yao Ming swished a three-pointer, Shaquille O'Neal was completely stunned under the basket.

Isn't that incredibly accurate?

However, O'Neal felt that Yao Ming must have been lucky to make that play.

What center has such an accurate three-point shooting percentage!

Although Phil Jackson was very unhappy with O'Neal's lax defense, he did not substitute O'Neal off the court, nor did he even utter a reprimand.

Because he knew very well that in order to defeat the Kirin team, he had to rely on O'Neal.

It would be better to let O'Neal learn his lesson himself rather than scolding or reminding him.

Come back.

O'Neal continued to draw double teams under the basket, but this time he did not choose to force a shot.

Instead, he passed the ball to Pippen, who had a better opportunity.

Pippen did not disappoint O'Neal's trust, hitting a mid-range jump shot.

5:4

Next, the Qilin team continued to use the one-star-four-shooter tactic.

Yao Ming still had the ball at the top of the arc, beyond the three-point line.

This time, however, O'Neal didn't retreat to the basket; instead, he came out to defend.

Although he felt that Yao Ming had made a lucky shot in the previous play, he dared not gamble on it again.

What if Yao Ming scores again?

Besides O'Neal coming out to defend, Pippen also abandoned his own defender and rushed over to double-team Yao Ming, trying to steal the ball.

Clearly, the Lakers came prepared today.

On the defensive end, they are prepared to double-team the player with the ball.

But double-teaming the ball handler means that one of them will be in an absolutely open position.

Pippen abandoned his defensive assignment against Kobe Bryant, the offensive spearhead of the Qilin team.

"Da Yao, over here."

After being defended, Kobe immediately moved to the right 45-degree angle outside the three-point line to receive the pass.

Yao Ming passed the ball to Kobe Bryant as soon as he heard Kobe call him.

After receiving the ball, Kobe calmly adjusted himself for a moment before launching a three-pointer from the spot.

"Shh!"

8:4

After the ball went in, Kobe walked past Pippen, shook his head, and sighed.

"Scottie, we've been rivals for a long time. How dare you leave me hanging? I don't know what you were thinking."

"However, I do like it when you leave me open, so I can score more easily."

After hearing Kobe's words, Pippen snorted coldly and didn't take them to heart.

On the contrary, O'Neal, standing to the side, said with a reproachful look, "Scottie, how could you leave Kobe open?"

"He's the scoring champion this season, a monster who can score 80+ points in a single game. You can't leave him open, no matter who you're leaving open."

Admittedly, O'Neal is right, but Pippen felt that the responsibility for that play wasn't entirely his.

He seized the perfect opportunity to double-team Yao Ming.

Yao Ming's timing for the pass was also excellent, precisely when he was unable to return to help defend Kobe.

But at this point, the defender in the corner should come over to cover.

However, JR Reed in the corner did not help defend Kobe, which gave Kobe an open shot opportunity.

Although the fault did not lie with Pippen, he decided to take the blame for the sake of team unity.

Thus, in the first quarter, the Lakers focused on inside offense.

O'Neal, taking advantage of his dominance in the paint, relentlessly tormented the Qilin team's interior defense, wreaking havoc inside.

单节10中6，罚球6中1，拿下13分。

On the other side, the Qilin team mainly uses a one-star-four-shooter tactic, focusing on outside offense.

After Yao Ming and Kobe Bryant hit two three-pointers at the start of the game, Steve Nash and Tracy McGrady each contributed a three-pointer.

In the first quarter, the Qilin team made a total of 4 three-pointers, forcing the Lakers' defense to expand outwards.

Subsequently, Nash, Kobe, Yao Ming, and others fed the ball to Ben Wallace, allowing him to attack the basket.

Ultimately, Ben Wallace scored a team-high 12 points and also grabbed 5 rebounds.

Kobe recorded 8 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds.

Yao Ming recorded 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 37-34.

The Los Angeles Lakers trail the Dallas Kirin by 3 points.