Phil Jackson has focused most of his energy this season on coordinating player relationships and balancing the ball with big players. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

If there is anyone else in this league who can lead four Hall of Fame-caliber players to the court, it must be Phil Jackson, the most legendary coach in the NBA with nine rings, the creator of three triple championships, and the most unique coaching style and coaching system in the league.

For him, tactics don't come first, it's how to get the players to work for the championship willingly. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have been heartbroken about this. The crushing defeat in the Western Conference semifinals last season has given both O'Neal and Bryant a strong desire to be aggressive this season, and O'Neal has been fully attendant in the first 24 games, at least so far.

You must know that O'Neal missed almost all games in November last season because of a big toe injury, and it was from that time that the Lakers began to criticize O'Neal for not being diligent enough.

Jackson still remembers when the Lakers went to Boston for an away game, O'Neal was absent, and Kobe Bryant hit a 47-iron game and finally lost the game.

As for Malone and Payton, both came for the championship, especially Karl Malone, who spent the summer recovering and strengthening his body. Just last season, Malone was still averaging 21 points per game this season, and even though he was close to 40 years old, he was still an efficient scorer. And the self-discipline, diligence, and restraint he showed brought a breath of fresh air to the Lakers who were a little impetuous before.

The only thing that displeased Jackson was Payton, who was obviously used to playing under Supersonic George Karl, and it was difficult for him to adapt to Jackson's system, which required the point guard to act like a blue-collar player, do a good job of defense, do a good job of open threes, and do a good job of basic transfer balls.

As for Payton, defense is his specialty, but his aggressive defensive style can often become porous if it is not supported by the front. It just so happens that the Lakers' forward line is not the type to be good at filling in the gaps. On the offensive end, Payton is accustomed to counterattacking, loves to fight, and is good at eating hard with his back in the second fast break, and mid-to-long-range projection in open conditions is not his characteristic.

And as the tactical brain of the team for a long time, it is now difficult for Payton to adapt to the fact that he has become the least important part of the tactics like a blue-collar worker.

Of course, the bigger trouble still comes from Kobe, the Eagle County incident not only made Kobe lose face and damaged his image, but the more direct impact was that he could not seriously hone his skills and body in the summer, and after the start of the season, he was also affected by the lawsuit and had to struggle between the two places, between lawyers and coaches, between the court and the arena.

The young man who originally had an explosive head, stubborn but with a bright smile, began to look gloomy and dignified. Exhausted by intense pressure from the media and the cumbersome and complicated legal process in the United States, he was able to attend training on time and even attend the tournament and put on a great performance.

But Jackson knew that this was not a long-term solution, and that it would be too fatal for a season in which not winning a championship would be a failure. The core player does not have a stable and relaxed mentality, and there is no regular training and game arrangement, which will affect not only his state alone, but also the entire team.

Since last season, Jackson has known that Kobe, who is competitive and competitive, is like another Jordan kid, who is never willing to be only the No. 2 of the Lakers in his heart, and will be safe and secure like Pippen for the rest of his life, playing beside O'Neal. Last year, he managed to surpass O'Neal to become the team's leading scorer, and Jackson knew that gave him confidence.

Now that the Lakers' record is soaring and the limelight is gaining momentum, Jackson is trying his best to coordinate the relationship between all parties, take care of the veterans, and train the newcomers, and the Lakers are still harmonious internally, and everyone is fighting for the ultimate goal.

In the game against the Celtics on the night of the 21st, Jackson was a little worried, he didn't know what the situation of the Celtics was, but he knew, first, the current Celtics were quite strong; Second, he doesn't want tonight's game to affect the Lakers' morale.

The same loss, losing to a strong opponent in a high-profile battle, and losing to a weak team in the gutter are completely different, especially at home. Before the game, Jackson tried his best to keep a low profile and not have any verbal disputes with Celtics coach Leon, in order not to make waves within the team.

And as soon as the first quarter of the game began, the Celtics broke the ball successfully and relied on Arenas' layup to score a point first, which made Jackson shake his head a little. There is an obvious problem with Payton's positioning, and the triangle offense requires the players to stand at a distance to ensure that the passes between players are not easy to miss, and the players who receive the ball are not easy to be trapped.

But Payton didn't realize this, and this thought didn't fit into his bone marrow, so O'Neal's catch was broken by the bag.

Being counter-attacked by opponents is the last thing Jackson wants, and this older team with a heavy center at its core does not want to get caught up in a quick game.

Looking back, the Lakers still insisted on playing O'Neal's point, allowing O'Neal to find an offensive feeling at the beginning, which was an important secret to the Lakers' victory. If such a big killer is not used in the opening game, but is saved until the final moments full of foul tactics and pressing, it will be a waste of Superman's energy.

This time, O'Neal switched to one side to receive the ball, and Fox handed the ball to O'Neal at 45 degrees, and he and O'Neal formed a deployment line, with the right distance and a vacant baseline, so that the Celtics players did not dare to easily wrap up.

O'Neal received the ball and turned around with an elbow lift to open PJ Brown, and then a one-handed heavy dunk sent the ball to the basket!

"What a monster...... Leon watched from the sidelines as O'Neal easily pushed off Brown and completed the offense with a dunk, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that even in the monster-ridden NBA, O'Neal is an out-and-out monster among monsters.

But Leon knew in his heart that this monster was also 31 years old this year, and it was at the tail of the peak of a center forward. A super center at the tail end of his prime, he can often maintain his offensive form for two to three years, longer or even four to five years, slowly sliding down a smooth curve.

But his form on the defensive end will most likely be broken in one year. O'Neal can still easily grab more than 10 rebounds and make more than 2.5 blocks per game, which is not much different from when he was at his peak five years ago. But Leon, who is observant and data aware, knows that the overweight shark, who misses part of the game every year, will no longer be able to stop his opponent on the defensive end like he did when he was 27 years old. He's more like an elephant, and unless someone rushes to the basket, he'll do his best, or he'll just flick his nose and shill his tusks in warning.

So before the start of the game, like Phil Jackson, Leon also wanted the Celtics to start from the inside, but not in the low post, but in blocking.

Arenas and PJ Brown made a rare pick-and-roll, with PJ Brown cutting outside and shooting a jumper from 12 feet from the basket at 45 degrees. It wasn't a long distance, but O'Neill didn't want to pull it out either, just watching the ball hollow into the net in a straight curve.

This is a problem that the Lakers have had to face for a long time - how O'Neal can defend against pick-and-roll. However, it turns out that even if O'Neal can't save the pick-and-roll, no team other than the Utah Jazz can beat the Lakers to death with the pick-and-roll.

So Phil Jackson is not in a hurry, he feels that the Celtics are not the first to deal with O'Neal like this, and they will not be the last. If their tricks were all that far, Jackson wasn't worried.

Next, O'Neal scored again, he turned around and skipped PJ Brown, and then Payton long lob, O'Neal scored in the air relay! That's what O'Neal is good at, and that's what Payton is good at, 4:4.

The reason why Jackson is not worried about O'Neal's defense is because compared to O'Neal's inability to prevent blocking, the opponent is even more unable to prevent O'Neal.

In the opening game, O'Neal scored four points in a row with two dunks. But Jackson didn't expect that except for O'Neal, none of the other players in the entire Lakers scored more than four points in the first quarter. (To be continued.) )