Chapter 52

"Penny, you're especially spirited today. I really like this side of you. The previous Hardaway was like a prisoner confined in a cage, reasonable in every way but lacking a sharp edge. It seems that today's opponent is indeed very special."

Recently, the Magic's performance has been outstanding, and as the team's current star player, Shaquille O'Neal is very happy. Last season, he was thoroughly dominated by Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing, the league's top three centers, which left O'Neal seething with anger.

However, it is clear that O'Neal does not think he did anything wrong last season. In his view, being dominated by those three old guys was not due to his lack of strength, but rather a lack of experience. In O'Neal's mind, he is the protagonist of a knight novel, a sky knight who starts with full stats and the strongest skills. Although he may encounter setbacks on the path to saving the princess, these setbacks will ultimately become stepping stones for him. This season, he is determined to make a comeback. Whether it's Hakeem, Ewing, or Robinson, all these guys will be swept into the trash, and he is very confident about it.

In his opinion, Hardaway should also be like this. He is very satisfied with this teammate. In terms of ability, Hardaway is almost like the all-powerful Robin next to Batman. Even in many of the team's internal scrimmages, the team led by Hardaway can defeat the team led by O'Neal. The only thing that doesn't quite suit O'Neal about this "Robin" is that he is too reserved and quiet, which O'Neal doesn't like.

"Penny, just play your heart out in this game. Do whatever you want. Today, you are the only king of this team."

After saying this, O'Neal patted Hardaway on the shoulder and walked towards the center circle to prepare for the jump ball. Although his personality is very childish, the more childish a person is, the stronger their possessiveness. Once they set their eyes on a toy, no one else should try to take it. The position of team leader is the best toy for O'Neal. In the past, if anyone dared to touch his favorite toy, O'Neal would have destroyed them. He is childish, but he is not stupid. He knows that Hardaway doesn't care about this toy, so he doesn't mind sharing it with Hardaway. This big guy really likes Hardaway.

Unfortunately, Hardaway seems to have no feelings for him, which hurts this big guy who always thinks he is the main character of the universe. The knight novels don't say it this way.

...

...

"Lin, are you ready for this game? The Magic is a very interesting opponent. See that young fat guy? Last season, he was thoroughly dominated by John and me."

Before the game, O'Neal saw that Hardaway's demeanor had changed dramatically when facing the Jazz, so he was very happy and wanted to support Hardaway in this game. On the other side, Karl Malone was also very happy as he saw O'Neal swaggering towards the center circle to prepare for the jump ball. He kept whispering to Lin about how he and Stockton had teased O'Neal last season.

"Karl, where is your superstar dignity? Where is your integrity? And you still lost a game."

After hearing Malone's self-praise, Lin felt a chill. Since joining the Jazz, he knew that the team's two star players were not "good guys," especially on the court. But he didn't expect that these two guys were so cruel to a rookie, a "kid" like O'Neal last season.

Damn, constantly playing high pick-and-rolls in front of a 2.18-meter, 300-pound big man is just cruel. Playing pick-and-rolls is one thing, but intentionally provoking O'Neal and then luring him into defense, making such a fat big man run back and forth for pick-and-rolls, is just too cruel.

"Ha, Lin, it's not my fault, it's all Karl's fault. Karl's shooting was terrible that game, and that little fat guy was really strong. You don't know, our starting center, Mark Eaton, wanted to retire because of that kid, and Eaton really did retire."

Although the focus of the entire nation was on the matchup between Hardaway and Lin, the attention on this game was high, but the Jazz players, except for Lin, were very relaxed. With last season's experience, the Jazz did not think the Magic would be difficult to handle. For a team that relies on pick-and-rolls, the Jazz are not afraid of teams with tall and big centers. At worst, O'Neal could dominate their frontcourt, but they could also use pick-and-rolls to counter him. What the Jazz fear the most are players like Hakeem Olajuwon and Shawn Kemp of the Rockets. Especially Olajuwon, with his incredible physical talent and skills that rival many small forwards, what is he planning to do? Last season, the Jazz played five games against the Rockets and only won one. In one game, Olajuwon had 8 blocks against them, and he averaged 4.5 blocks per game in the five games, which was just miserable.

O'Neal is very strong, and Lin didn't know much about him before, but after seeing the jump ball, he felt a bit sorry for the team's starting center, Spencer.

Spencer, standing 2.13 meters tall and weighing 250 pounds, was the sixth pick in the 1990 draft. His strength and defense were his specialties. When he stood next to O'Neal, Lin could feel that he was trembling. During the jump ball, his jump was half a beat late, and he was easily beaten by O'Neal.

As the starting point guard for the Magic in this game, Skiles, although not very willing, still passed the ball to Hardaway after winning the jump ball. He has now transformed from a top-tier point guard averaging around 10 assists per game to a pseudo-point guard, which is a sad transformation. When a team's shooting guard or small forward reaches the level of Jordan or Hardaway, the point guard is often just a figurehead. This shows how incredibly strong Hardaway is, strong enough to make the Magic sacrifice a point guard who averaged 15+ points and 10+ assists last season.

Although unhappy with his situation, Skiles had no complaints. He fully recognized Hardaway's abilities. This young player did not steal his ball-handling rights for any other reason; he was simply better in every aspect.

The Jazz were very clear that their starting center, Spencer, was no match for O'Neal, so they set up their defense well after the jump ball.

Today, after getting the ball, Hardaway did not organize the offense as usual or pass the ball to O'Neal in the post. Instead, he directly faced off against Lin.

"It looks like there's going to be a good show!"

When the media saw Hardaway actively seeking out Lin, they all got excited. Today, Hardaway was not as reserved as usual.

For Lin, facing Hardaway in this game was a very difficult task. He had no confidence at all.

So, seeing Hardaway calmly dribbling in front of him, Lin stepped back slightly and extended his hand forward, just as he did when defending Payton. But before he could fully extend his hand, seeing Hardaway's intense gaze, Lin hesitated and did not use the eye-covering trick. Instead, he took a very standard defensive stance.

"Is this your defense? It doesn't seem to have improved. It's still so loose."

Hardaway had been paying attention to Lin's changes. Seeing Lin's defensive stance, he sneered.

Seeing his former teammate's disdainful expression, Lin was really angry. He didn't want to play dirty like he did against Payton. After all, they were former teammates, and Lin was very grateful for Hardaway's help in the talent training camp. If not for Hardaway sacrificing his stats to help Lin and Van Exel score, they might not have made it.

But before Lin could react, the quietly dribbling Hardaway finally moved.

"Too fast!"

In just one step, Hardaway blew past Lin's loose defense like the wind, and Lin, losing his balance, fell to the ground with his legs spread wide.

"Lin, you lost too quickly."

Seeing Lin get blown past by Hardaway, Malone, who was right behind Lin, was speechless. Jerry Sloan, on the sidelines, shook his head with a bitter smile. Although Lin's defensive stance looked good, it was all for show. No matter how talented a player is, they can't improve so quickly.

"Karl, be ready to help!"

Just as Malone was about to mock Lin, Stockton, not far away, shouted urgently. He could see how fast Hardaway was from behind.

"Don't worry, John, no problem."

Malone, who had no confidence in Lin's defense, was already prepared to help. He had already taken his position, waiting for Hardaway to come.

But just as Malone confidently finished speaking, he suddenly saw a blur. Hardaway slowed down, faked a pass, and then accelerated, turning and disappearing past Malone.

"Damn, I was fooled!"

By the time Malone realized he had been played, he turned around to see Hardaway's graceful and beautiful figure already slamming the ball through the hoop.

After scoring the first two points of the game with a one-handed slam, Hardaway, as he walked past Lin, sneered and said, "If you're still at this level, you have no chance in this game."

"Damn, what's with the attitude?"

Lin was furious. This guy had been looking at him with disdain for a long time. Lin had never been so tolerant of anyone in his life. In recent years, Lin, who had been very selfish, had his first impulse to make a friend, but it was strangely rejected by Hardaway. Rejection was one thing, but this guy kept treating him like this.

Lin couldn't figure out what he had done to offend him. Was it just because he didn't defend, didn't grab rebounds, and didn't chase loose balls in the training camp? Was it necessary to hold a grudge for so long?

"Alice, burn the remaining 20% of my character points."

Lin, watching Hardaway's retreating back, gritted his teeth and shouted to Alice in his inner space. He was really going all out in this game.

"Aren't you going to save some just in case?"

"Save for what? Let's take care of this infuriating kid first."

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