The longest river

Chapter 117 Crotch Humiliation
Yang Shuai scored 5 points in a row at the start, showing excellent form.

At the other end of the court, O'Neal's face was puffed up with anger.

But who told him to miss the free throw? If he had made the second free throw, it wouldn't be O'Neal making the joke, it would be Yang Shuai instead.

The Lakers' offense saw O'Neal continue to aggressively establish position.

This time, he didn't rely entirely on brute force; instead, he turned towards the free-throw line after exerting force.

His increased size only slowed down his movement speed; he didn't lose his technique.

"Snapped!"

However, a familiar scene unfolded: just as he turned to take the ball, Yang Shuai suddenly appeared from behind and stole it!
Yang Shuai's matchup is Ceballos, a former NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion who plays a rim-attacking style and has averaged over 21 points per game for the Lakers in the past two seasons.

However, after O'Neal joined the team this season, his average score plummeted to 10 points per game.

The reason is simple: O'Neal dominated the paint, leaving O'Neal to shoot from the outside, which was not his forte at all.

His three-point shooting percentage was only 27% last season, and it has dropped to almost 20% this season.

Therefore, Yang Shuai could confidently and boldly attack him from behind.

Moreover, Ceballos didn't even yell at O'Neal to remind him when O'Neal's stats plummeted, unlike Anfernee Hardaway.

O'Neal was intercepted very decisively this time.

However, after being dispossessed, O'Neal immediately grabbed Yang Shuai's hand.

The referee immediately jumped between the two players and called a defensive foul on O'Neal.

They were genuinely afraid that these two people would cause a brawl throughout the venue.

Turning back, Yang Shuai continued to exploit the situation where O'Neal was stuck in the pit. After successfully drawing Kersey's help defense, Davis hit a mid-range jump shot near the baseline.

The Pacers got off to a dream start with a 7-0 run.

Moreover, in the next offensive possession, O'Neal was called for an offensive foul by the referee for swinging his elbow while backing down Schmitz.

After committing two consecutive fouls, O'Neal was substituted by Harris.

Just then, Yang Shuai smiled and clapped in O'Neal's direction.

Yang Shuai's expression clearly showed his "mindset manipulation" skills.

"Negative energy from Shaquille O'Neal +1000".

O'Neal was so angry that his face contorted.

Surprisingly, the Lakers' offense actually improved after O'Neal left the court.

It gives the impression that the Lakers players are impersonating Shaquille O'Neal.

Of course, the fact is that the Lakers players were used to playing with stretch centers like Vlade Divac, so they were bound to have some trouble adjusting to playing with a pure low-post center like Shaquille O'Neal.

This can be seen from their record of 3 wins and 3 losses so far this season.

"Silver Fox" Harris has been searching for the perfect lineup to complement O'Neal, but he clearly hasn't found it yet.

Yang Shuai received Miller-style treatment tonight, and he was in excellent form.

He had already scored 12 points when he was substituted with 2 minutes left in the first quarter.

Another focus tonight is O'Neal, who not only had two fouls but also failed to score a single point.

In this comparison, the Pacers led 24-15 in the first quarter.

At the start of the second quarter, O'Neal returned to the court, and Kobe also got his chance to play at that time.

In the very first possession, O'Neal, whose anger was already building up on the sidelines, received a pass from Kobe and shoved Antonio Davis aside to deliver a violent dunk.

And in the next possession, when the Pacers started to collapse their defense on O'Neal, Kobe received a pass from O'Neal on the perimeter and hit a mid-range shot.

Although it was only two short rounds, it was clear that Kobe had a consistent mid-range scoring ability, and he was a better fit with Shaq than Ceballos.

Two minutes into the second quarter, the Lakers, led by the "OK combination," went on an 8-2 run, quickly narrowing the gap to 3 points.

The Pacers called a timeout.

It was during this timeout that Yang Shuai volunteered to play for Bird.

Bird agreed immediately.

The main character of tonight's game is Yang Shuai. As long as Yang Shuai doesn't get into a fight with O'Neal on the court, he won't stop anything else.

After the timeout, Yang Shuai returned to the court. The lineups for both sides at this point were:

Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Corey Blunt, Tyrese Knight, Shaquille O'Neal
Pacers: Scott, Young, Vincent Ascu, Jermaine O'Neal, Antonio Davis
The Pacers started their attack, and Yang Shuai reached out for the ball after getting to the frontcourt.

After receiving the ball, he gestured for Davis to move to the high post to set a screen for him.

Kobe was guarding Yang Shuai. He was very aggressive, but like Yang Shuai in his rookie season, he didn't know how to deal with high pick-and-rolls and was quickly screened by Davis.

However, Yang Shuai did not shoot a three-pointer directly this time. Instead, he waited until everyone had spread out, dribbled the ball with one hand, and waved to O'Neal with the other.

There was a commotion in the place.

If the previous conflicts were only indirect, then Yang Shuai's current actions are a blatant and direct provocation!

Shaquille O'Neal strode out with an imposing swagger.

If Yang Shuai provokes him like this and he still cowers inside, then he really is a coward.

Yang Shuai quickly launched an attack, using a series of crossovers to get past O'Neal. After O'Neal was forced to retreat, Yang Shuai quickly stepped back to the three-point line. With this move, O'Neal was sent flying more than a meter away.

Then, amidst O'Neal's furious expression, Yang Shuai once again unleashed a powerful three-pointer.

Moreover, after the offensive and defensive transition, Yang Shuai also mindlessly double-teamed O'Neal under the basket, forcing O'Neal to pass the ball to Kobe.

Kobe received the ball and made another mid-range shot.

Yang Shuai did not react to this.

Before the game, I dared to say that O'Neal did something stupid; if he could make that shot, it should have been his point.

Turning back, Yang Shuai continued to set a screen, and Kobe struggled a few times but was still blocked by Davis.

Yang Shuai once again got a chance to take on O'Neal in a mismatch one-on-one situation.

The fans at the stadium were going wild; nobody plays like this anymore!
However, this would have been commonplace in the era before Yang Shuai's time travel, as it was a standard procedure for "training the opposing center."

Although theoretically there weren't that many three-point shooters in this era, Harris could have protected O'Neal through tactics.

However, the Pacers changed their spacing strategy, and the open mid-range shot by Dale Davis on the baseline proved to be the result.

Secondly, and more importantly, even if Harris wanted to do something similar, O'Neal might not agree to Yang Shuai's purely provocative approach.

O'Neal increased his aggressiveness this time, lunging forward directly.

However, this will only make him look more embarrassed.

Because Yang Shuai directly bypassed him with a change of direction, he didn't even have a chance to foul.

Yang Shuai charged into the paint and delivered another signature tomahawk dunk.

Yang Shuai scored 5 points in a row after coming off the bench in the second quarter!
The scene was in an uproar.

If they keep playing like this, not only O'Neal, but even they are starting to feel the strain.

Actually, Shaquille O'Neal's ability to switch onto guards during his Magic days wasn't that bad; he was just afraid of shots after high pick-and-rolls.

However, it is obvious that now that he has gained weight, he is a disaster when facing a defender like Yang Shuai who has shooting range and the ability to break through defenses.

During the transition between offense and defense, Yang Shuai continued to collapse the paint, while Kobe continued to get mid-range shooting opportunities from the outside.

However, Kobe failed to capitalize on the opportunity this time.

The basketball bounced off the rim, was caught by O'Neal's long arms, and then slammed into the basket over Antonio Davis.

His shot was clearly an act of venting, as he hooked his feet up and knocked Davis to the ground.

Yang Shuai turned to look at Kobe and shook his head.

Ah Dou, you're such a disappointment!

With the offense and defense switching, Yang Shuai is preparing to continue training O'Neal.

He remembered that O'Neal had a dream of becoming a policeman, so he gave him military training in advance today, which could be considered a kind gesture to prepare him ahead of time.

However, before he could even call for a screen, Kobe started it first.

"Is all you can call a pick-and-roll now?!"

This shows just how clueless a hothead can be.

Anyone else would know that Yang Shuai was letting him shoot.

But that's just Kobe.

Of course, he was clearly not standing up for O'Neal, because when he was chatting with Yang Shuai last night, he also complained to Yang Shuai about O'Neal dominating the paint.

He even mentioned to "Silver Fox" Harris that O'Neal should leave the paint to allow him to drive to the basket.

But that kind of behavior is just as laughable as what Kobe did right now.

Yang Shuai would have ignored anyone else, but because it was Kobe, the guy who said he could beat him after he let him win last night, he really couldn't turn a blind eye.

Since Kobe insisted on making things difficult for himself, he had no choice but to comply.

Back down, generate power, use your size advantage to suppress Kobe's center of gravity, turn around and fake a move, then turn around and break through.

Yang Shuai repeated what he did to Kobe in the one-on-one match.

Kobe was so eager to defend Yang Shuai to prove himself that he was completely fooled when Yang Shuai faked a turn. When he lunged at him, he lost his balance and almost fell to one knee.

However, just after Yang Shuai shook off Kobe, a huge figure suddenly pounced on Yang Shuai.

That was Shaquille O'Neal, who came out from the side while Yang Shuai's attention was on Kobe, trying to steal the ball from Yang Shuai!
However, O'Neal clearly underestimated Yang's current agility.

Although he didn't fully notice O'Neal's movements, O'Neal was so big that he caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye.

So when O'Neal pounced on him, he simply dribbled away with a crossover dribble.

His dodge had a significant impact; O'Neal, having lunged too hard and without any leverage, fell directly to the ground in front of the poplar tree!
Yang Shuai was also stunned for a moment, but seeing O'Neal lying in front of him, he didn't say a word and directly dribbled the ball over him.

After a short burst of acceleration, Yang Shuai leaped into the air and executed a highly theatrical performance involving a violent, two-handed slam into the rim and a swaying motion.

There was an uproar at the scene.

If Yang Shuai was merely provoking O'Neal in the previous few rounds, then this last play was a complete humiliation!

(End of this chapter)