BRYAN SHAW RELIED ON HIS 198CM HEIGHT ADVANTAGE TO PASS THE BALL TO O'NEAL VERY WELL AND WAS ABLE TO ORGANIZE THE OFFENSE, BUT HE DID NOT PERFORM WELL ON THE DEFENSIVE END AND WAS ALSO UNABLE TO BLOCK AND DISMANTLE THE JAZZ.

Stockton scored and assisted his teammates in quick succession, becoming the most conspicuous man on the court.

Scoring guard Starks' non-stop running position also allowed Kobe Bryant to focus more on the defensive end.

35-YEAR-OLD VETERAN JOHN STARKS IS 196CM TALL AND WEIGHS 86 KG, HE IS NOT A FUEL-EFFICIENT LAMP, AND HIS NICKNAME IS ALSO "CRAZY". He was named to the Knicks' All-Defensive Second Team in 1993, an All-Star in 1994 and Sixth Man of the Year in '97.

The Lakers were completely dumb from beyond the three-point line, relying only on O'Neal and Ryder to provide firepower, and the Jazz chased the score to 80-all.

Seven minutes later, Jackson replaced Ryder and replaced Guo Xu and Brian Shaw to form a back line. Kobe Bryant stepped into the small forward position. The Jazz's outside players are not strong, such a combination of single defense will not become a weakness, the defense and dismantling rely on the players to shrink to the vicinity of the box for "pseudo-joint defense", one O'Neal is enough to make the box into a no-fly zone.

Jackson believes that this period must limit the play of Stockton and Starks, and the height of the defensive forward is not at a loss, and if the Jazz can be attracted to let the small forward go head-to-head, the pressure on the defense and pick-and-roll will be reduced a lot.

The game continued, Guo Xu dribbled to the three-point line and passed to Brian Shaw, who got rid of the 201CM Quincy Lewis from the left side by Grant's off-ball cover, and hit a mid-range shot.

82-80, Guo Xu's fifth assist.

Brian Shaw always passes the ball to his teammates, Lewis is underweighted and not very aggressive in his pursuit. This is the role of a veteran, the body is not good, and the experience can occasionally be used to get one.

Jazz offense, Lewis wanted to rely on his body to single out Brian Shaw, was squeezed and lost rhythm when he broke through with the ball, dribbled and smashed on his feet, Brian Shaw picked up the basketball, Lewis was eager to fight back and paid for another foul.

Sloan signaled to the referee on the sidelines that Bryan Shaw's defense had fouled first, but the referee ignored it, it was just a normal confrontation.

Lewis, the 19th rookie in the first round in 1999, was in good shape, didn't have a bright head, and always had poor offensive options. Sloan was willing to train him, but he disappointed time and again.

The Lakers attacked, Guo Xu dribbled to the front court and no one covered, he wanted to play in the face of Stockton and was afraid that he would not listen to the command and be hidden by Jackson, so he had to pass to Xiao again, the latter formed a triangle with Kobe Bryant and O'Neal, Guo Xu stood in the middle and waited for the opportunity, receiving the ball or organizing it for the second time.

O'Neal received the ball in the low post and singled out Ostertag, the two were close in size, and the big white bear played the only role, resisting the man. Whenever he sees this kind of scene, Guo Xu feels a little painful, obviously there is a more effortless way to play, but the Lakers don't use it, O'Neal is also happy to do it, he is willing to use this way to prove his strength.

O'Neill squeezed twice and turned to the middle, bent his knees to hold the ball with both hands, and Ostertag was raised by the shaking center of gravity. O'Neal took a step forward and made a jumper, and Ostertag fouled him.

Even if they are of similar stature, it is difficult for the white bear to defend against the black bear, the peak O'Neal's bounce is strong enough to turn around and dunk in 360 degrees, and Ostertag is an out-and-out floor flow, once O'Neal jumps, he can't block it, he can only foul to stop.

O'Neill couldn't seize the easy opportunity again, missed both free throws, and handed over the ball to others.

Making free throws is always the most efficient and lethal way to score on the basketball court. Most players are much more efficient at the free-throw line than they are at the shooting team, and if all 10 offensive opportunities are fouled, even if they are all two-point fouls, there are 20 free throws. O'Neal scored 10 points on 50 percent free throw shooting, the same as he did on 50 percent shooting from 10 attempts.

If O'Neal had made a reliable free throw shot and shot 80 percent from the field, it would have been equivalent to 80 percent of his two-point shooting in 10 attacks, which was terrifyingly efficient.

In Guo Xu's previous life, O'Neal averaged double-doubles per game in the regular season for 10 seasons in his career, 9.3 free throws per game in 19 seasons, and his statistics were even more terrifying in the playoffs, with 12 playoff free throws per game, 15.4 per game in the peak two times, and 11.6 free throws per game in 17 playoff games.

Unfortunately, O'Neal averaged 52.7 percent of his free throw shooting per game in the regular season and 50.4 percent in the playoffs, both of which were below his athletic scoring efficiency. He has never averaged 30+ points per game in a single season, and he was ruined on free throws, if he has Yao Ming's accuracy, his achievements will be limitless, and he will hit Jordan's ten scoring titles, and six championships are possible.

When O'Neal made a free throw, Sloan brought on Russell to replace Lewis.

Jazz offense, Stockton ball-controlled organization, side Ostertag to Starks off-ball cover, Stockton passed to Starks, who attracted O'Neal to switch defenses, and then pass to Ostertag who cut in the air.

"Big White Bear" knew that he was slow to cut into the air, and after receiving the ball, he dribbled and passed to Malone who was deep under the basket. Grant fouled, but Malone still threw the ball out and scored to make it 2+1.

Marlon made a free throw, 82-83.

After this foul, veteran Grant "graduated" with six fouls, and Jackson sent Fox to make a cameo appearance as power forward.

The Lakers attacked, after the players pulled away, Kobe Bryant broke through with the ball, and Stockton let go of Guo Xu to sneak attack.

Russell was stuck in position, Kobe Bryant didn't notice the gap in the middle, protected the ball and made a move, and was successfully tackled by Stockton from behind.

Stockton made a long pass to Starks, who forced a layup in the face of Bryan Shaw and hit a two-point layup to make it 82-85.

Bryant singled Russell and made two free throws with a foul. 84 to 85.

Both sides have found a sense of attack, you come and go, and no one can defend against anyone. Guo Xu didn't have a chance to shoot on the offensive end, but he performed well on the defensive end and didn't let Stockton score again.

The Lakers had a slight advantage, as O'Neal forced a 2+1 attack to knock Ostertag down, and the Jazz were forced to replace the very underweight Danny Manning.

At 1 minute and 45 seconds, O'Neal singled out Manning to have a clear advantage, attracting Starks to wrap and distribute it to outside Brian Shaw, who attracted Stockton to make up for the defense and pass 70 degrees to Guo Xu in the bottom corner.

Guo Xu didn't waste the opportunity, and hit a three-point shot in the open position, 91-89, and the Lakers overtook again.

It was his 11th personal point, and he finally scored in double figures, and it was worth a lot of money.

In the next round, Malone hit Fox in a low position, O'Neal suddenly came out to help defend the ball successfully, Guo Xu received O'Neal's pass and went down the fast attack alone, changed direction and accelerated past Stockton and was pulled.

The Jazz had 4 fouls in the final quarter, and Guo Xu was sent to the free throw line.

At the last moment, Jackson's line-up played a role, Guo Xu was the fastest player in the game, and Stockton, who had played 35 minutes, could no longer run.

The boxer is afraid of being less strong, and the physical disadvantage of the veteran becomes more obvious at the end.

Guo Xu hit two quick free throws and hit them steadily, and he didn't want to give Stockton any respite, and he found the veteran bent over as he watched from the sidelines.

93-89, Guo Xu's personal 13th point.

He scored five points in a row at the critical moment, which drew loud cheers from the home fans. When he returned to the defense, O'Neal and others high-fived him near the three-point line in the middle to celebrate.

O'Neal is not alone, he will immediately divide the ball when he sees a chance in his teammates, and last season averaged 3.8 assists per game, which is a good ability to play as an interior playmaker. You must know that he is an offensive killer, not a center like Divac, and if he reduces the focus on strong offensive passes, it is not difficult to average 5 assists per game.

The Lakers are in the right place at the right time and are close to winning.