N-A-A Chapter 34 The OK Combination Arrives
Chapter 34 The OK Combination Arrives
In Oakland in March, the warm Pacific breeze, carrying the California sunshine, couldn't dispel the tense atmosphere inside Oracle Arena.
With three days to go before the Warriors host the Los Angeles Lakers in the regular season, the entire arena is already filled with the smoke of this showdown. ESPN, TNT, and other top American sports media outlets have already booked the game for their front pages, with headlines that are increasingly sensational: "Three-time champion dynasty vs. dark horse newcomer, OK duo versus the vote king," "The ultimate test for the new generation of superstars, can Lin Hao overcome Kobe's mountain," and "Can the All-Star miracle continue? The final test for the vote king."
TNT went so far as to upgrade the game from a local broadcast to a prime-time national broadcast, filling the studio with commentators. Barkley and Kenny Smith immediately made a bet, with Barkley slamming his fist on the table and shouting that Lin Hao could lead his team to defeat the Lakers, while Smith laughed and mocked him for forgetting the taste of kissing a donkey's ass. The bet was set at "the loser would wear the other's jersey and commentate for the entire game."
On the other side of the ocean in China, the hype surrounding this game exploded. Within just 48 hours of the live stream reservation channel opening, the number of reservations exceeded eight million, breaking the all-time record for NBA regular season live stream reservations in China. On the homepage of the Hupu forum, eight out of ten posts discussed this matchup, with highlighted posts filled with fan-made data analyses of Lin Hao versus Kobe, and highlighted comments unanimously shouting, "Go, Northeast Big Flower! Crush the OK duo!" Even CCTV Sports Channel temporarily adjusted its broadcast schedule, making this game a key weekend primetime event, and even bringing in commentators Zhang Weiping and Xu Jicheng.
Everyone knew that the significance of this game had long surpassed that of an ordinary regular season game.
On one side is the OK duo, who won three consecutive championships and established the Lakers dynasty. At their peak, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant were absolute rulers who dominated the entire NBA and were nightmares for all teams. On the other side is Lin Hao, who rose from a second-round pick to become the All-Star vote leader in his rookie season and led the Warriors from a bottom-feeder team to the top of the Western Conference. He is the hottest new generation superstar in the entire league and the pride of countless Chinese fans.
Dynasty versus newcomer, legend versus dark horse – this showdown was destined to be written into NBA history from the very beginning.
At the Lakers' pre-game media conference at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the tension surrounding the matchup reached its peak.
Phil Jackson sat in the center of the press conference stage, twirling a pen in his hand, his face bearing the Zen Master's signature composure. But Kobe and Shaq beside him were in completely different states.
Kobe, dressed in a black training suit, sat in a chair with his arms crossed, his face so cold it seemed like three layers of frost could be scraped off, his eyes filled with his signature stubbornness and ruthlessness. When a reporter handed him a microphone, asking about his thoughts on the upcoming game against the Warriors and his matchup against Lin Hao, Kobe chuckled lightly and uttered a single sentence that instantly ignited the entire arena.
"My opinion? I don't have much of an opinion. That game-tying goal in the All-Star game was partly due to luck, and Lin Hao certainly has the ability. But in the context of our Lakers' high-intensity game, it was worthless."
He took a half step forward, spoke into the microphone, and said each word clearly, the laughter in his voice almost seeping through the camera: "I won't let him off easy this time, just like in the last match. I'll let him know that in this match, we will end them again in Auckland."
As soon as he finished speaking, the reporters in the room erupted in a frenzy, their cameras clicking incessantly. No one expected that Kobe would directly declare "the end," showing no mercy to Lin Hao whatsoever.
Sitting next to him, O'Neal joined in the fun, waving his large hand at the camera and shouting in broken Chinese, "Canned yellow peaches! Suona!"
After eliciting laughter from the crowd, O'Neal finally dropped his joking expression, his tone carrying the absolute dominance of the Big Diesel: "Listen, kid, I don't care if you can play the suona or eat canned peaches, you're in my paint again, so you'd better play by my rules. This game, I'll show you who's in the paint. If you lose, your suona will be mine! Hahaha!!!"
The announcements from the OK duo, one after the other, were like two bombshells, instantly shattering the entire American sports world.
The video of the press conference was uploaded online and topped the Twitter trending list within an hour. The hashtags #KobeBryantVowsToSweepLinHao# and #ShaqWantsToTakeTheShuttle# flooded the entire internet. Articles mocking Lin Hao appeared one after another. Countless Lakers fans and media outlets that were pessimistic about Lin Hao were waiting to see this "celebrity vote king" once again exposed as nothing in front of the OK duo.
Meanwhile, in the Warriors' training facility, Richardson had just seen the interview video and immediately exploded. He slammed his water bottle to the ground, the plastic bottle hitting the floor with a loud crash, splashing water everywhere.
"Who the hell do they think they are?!" Richardson cursed, his eyes red. "They got beaten by 38 points by our Canned Food Guy last time, and now they dare to talk about sweeping us? Do they really think they're invincible just because they've won three consecutive championships? When the game starts, I'll crush them so badly they won't even recognize their own mothers!"
His teammates around him were also indignant. Murphy clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, cursing, "Sweep? They really dare to say that! Do they really think our Warriors are pushovers, to be bullied as we please?"
"Exactly! We fought them to the very end in the last battle, and now our system is working together better and better. What are we afraid of?"
A group of tall, black men, each over two meters tall, were making a huge fuss, like a pot had been boiled over. Only Lin Hao, on the sidelines, was squatting on the ground, repeatedly practicing his three-point shooting motion after receiving the ball. The sound of the basketball swishing through the net was constant, but his face remained completely calm, as if he wasn't the one being mocked by the reporter at all.
Only after he had shot the last set of fifty three-pointers did he pick up a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead, casually unscrew a can of yellow peaches, fork a piece of peach into his mouth, and slowly open his mouth, instantly silencing the noise of the entire arena.
"What's the rush? They can say whatever they want. On the basketball court, the ball carries more weight than words. They say they'll sweep us, so let them try."
Lin Hao chewed on a peach, glanced at his indignant teammates, a faint smile playing on his lips, but his eyes held an undeniable ruthlessness: "So what if they've won three consecutive championships? So what if they've had the OK duo? I even dared to hit a game-tying shot against two blocks in Jordan's retirement All-Star game, what am I afraid of? We fought them to the very end in the opening game, this time, we'll upset them."
With just one sentence, he instantly calmed the entire team down. After his legendary performance in the All-Star Game and the experience of leading the team as the sole star during the regular season, Lin Hao's words now carried more weight than the head coach's. His composure was the team's greatest reassurance.
In a corner of the training hall, Zhang Qingying sat quietly, holding a thermos in her hands, watching Lin Hao on the court with tenderness in her eyes. She had secretly turned down all commercial activities from her agency and stayed in Auckland to accompany him in his training, wanting to be by his side and be his most reliable support.
During a training break, when Lin Hao came over, she immediately unscrewed the thermos and handed him the rock sugar pear soup she had just made, saying softly, "It's freshly made, soothe your throat. You're playing the suona and shouting tactical commands every day, don't ruin your voice."
Lin Hao took the thermos, took a sip, and the sweet warmth slid down his throat, relieving most of his fatigue. He looked at Zhang Qingying and couldn't help but laugh: "What? You've already given me a buff before the fight even starts?"
"Of course." Zhang Qingying smiled and gently brushed the damp stray hairs from his forehead, her fingertips lightly touching his cheek. "I believe in you. No matter what dynasty they are, you can win."
Lin Hao felt a warmth in his heart, reached out and pinched her cheek, without saying anything more. He simply turned around, picked up the youth training notebook that was placed aside, and waved to head coach Musselman and his teammates: "Come here, everyone, it's time for a meeting. If we want to beat the Lakers, just shouting slogans won't work. We need to figure out their secrets."
His teammates immediately swarmed around him, their heads pressed together, staring at Lin Hao's open youth training notebook. It was covered with dense writing, all of which was the tactical details and technical habits he had painstakingly analyzed frame by frame from nearly twenty Lakers games over two sleepless nights.
"The Lakers' triangle offense revolves around O'Neal. If we shut down O'Neal's receiving routes, their half-court offense will be crippled." Lin Hao quickly drew on the whiteboard with a marker, emphasizing O'Neal's position. "Shaq is too heavy and can't get out of the free-throw line when defending pick-and-rolls. So we'll focus on high pick-and-rolls. If he doesn't come out, we'll shoot threes; if he does come out, we'll cut to the basket and attack his slow footwork."
"And then there's Kobe." Lin Hao's pen tip moved to Kobe's position, and his eyes instantly became serious. "His offensive habits are such that if he lowers his right shoulder, he'll definitely drive to the left. If he backs down and pushes his left hip, he'll inevitably turn and lean back towards the baseline. He has the same problem as that kid Jay Williams; the habit is ingrained in his muscles and can't be changed. When defending him, you need to cover the left baseline in advance, don't fall for his fakes, and stick close to his shooting space. His shooting percentage will drop by at least 30%."
He meticulously dissected the Lakers' tactical weaknesses, from breaking the triangle offense to the technical habits of the OK combination, and then to the offensive blind spots of the role players. He even clearly pointed out Phil Jackson's tactical habits after calling a timeout.
The teammates around him nodded in agreement, and head coach Musselman stroked his chin, his eyes filled with amazement. In all his years as a coach, he had never seen a rookie dissect the opponent's tactics so thoroughly, with surgical precision.
After explaining the tactics, Lin Hao put the marker on the tactics board, picked up the ebony suona leaning against the side, put it in his mouth, and took a deep breath.
The next second, a suona horn sound that could pierce the clouds and split rocks resounded throughout the entire training hall.
He played "A Man Should Be Self-Reliant" with such fervor that the powerful notes resonated against the walls of the training hall, making everyone's eardrums vibrate. That indomitable and defiant spirit, carried by the suona, struck the hearts of every teammate.
After finishing his piece, Lin Hao put down his suona, looked at his teammates whose eyes were filled with passion, grinned, and shouted a sentence that shook the heavens: "Listen up, everyone! If we beat the Lakers, I'll give you all the canned peaches you want!"
"Beat the Lakers!"
"Canned Food Guy is awesome! Let's take them down!"
The teammates instantly went wild, shouting and getting fired up, eager to rush onto the court and fight the Lakers to the death.
Just then, the system's cold yet familiar notification tone suddenly rang out.
[Ding! Main quest triggered: Overthrow the Dynasty]
[Mission Requirements: Lead your team to a home victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, score no less than Kobe Bryant throughout the game, and effectively suppress the OK duo.]
[Mission Rewards: Permanent +30% Mid-Range Shooting Proficiency, Temporary +15% Physical Attribute Bonus, Unlock Triangle Offense Tactical Disassembly Mastery]
[Mission failure penalty: None. Northeastern men only know how to win, not how to lose!]
Lin Hao couldn't help but laugh when he heard the last sentence.
Kobe, Shaq, the Lakers dynasty.
You guys say you want to sweep everything?
Let's settle this on the court.
I can dunk over Shaq in the Finals halftime, and I can hit a game-tying shot against Jordan in the All-Star Game. So, I can also bring down your so-called three-peat dynasty on my home court.
I've taken on this battle.