Phil Jackson knew it very well.

What Han Ning was doing was a conspiracy.

I'm just going to name some of your veterans one by one.

Use up all the energy of the veteran, and then find a way to chase points.

In fact, from the moment Karl Malone's energy was exhausted and he had to take a rest, the Knicks had already started chasing points.

Where is the Knicks’ strongest point this season?!

Not outside!

Not Allen Iverson!

But the insider!

Dayao, Kurt Thomas, Mutombo, Zach Randolph!

These four people are all insider players who have entered the All-Star lineup in the past, present or future!

Needless to say, Yao is currently recognized as the number one center player in the league.

Mutombo was also a top inside player who was selected to the All-Star team in his rookie season.

Although he is a little older, he can definitely be said to be getting stronger with age.

At least, this physical strength is much stronger than Karl Malone.

Zach Randolph and Kurt Thomas would have been selected to the All-Star team twice in the original historical process.

Now with Han Ning, the strength of the two of them has also grown to a certain extent.

With such an inside lineup, who wouldn’t be scared after seeing it?!

The Lakers without Karl Malone.

There is only one O'Neal who can play inside.

Dominated the interior and controlled most of the rebounds.

Is it still difficult to chase points?!

This is also one of the few opportunities for the Lakers to be bullied by their opponents in the paint.

The Lakers' perimeter player, Gary Payton, is also very strong.

But his physical strength is no longer enough to support his ability to attack and defend like he did when he was young.

Under the constant battle between Allen Iverson and Jose Calderon, he could only focus as much of his physical strength and energy on defense.

During the attack, it is difficult to provide some effective help.

The most important thing is.

The conflict between Kobe and O'Neal is very deep now!

There is no possibility for two people to cooperate on the court.

It can even be said that as long as Kobe holds the ball, the Knicks can leave O'Neal alone!

Because Kobe would never pass the basketball to O'Neal!

As long as O'Neal can't grab rebounds, the Knicks don't need to worry about anything else.

Under such circumstances, it is really normal for the Knicks to chase points.

In the original historical process, in this season's finals, it was precisely because Karl Malone retired due to injury.

Gary Payton's physical strength has bottomed out and his performance is average.

The rest of the Lakers players can't be counted on.

Failure will occur.

Let the Pistons win the championship.

And now.

The game has not yet reached the fourth quarter.

The point difference between the two teams was only a little over ten points.

No more Gary Payton and Karl Malone.

Phil Jackson has already predicted the final result of this game in advance.

The Lakers probably lost.

Even though they are still ahead.

But a half-disabled Lakers team faced a healthy Knicks team.

The difference of more than ten points is really not big!

As expected.

Just after the timeout and Gary Payton also came off the court to rest, the Knicks began to exert their strength!

Allen Iverson came to the frontcourt with the ball, faced Kobe's defense, and drove straight to the basket with the help of Yao's pick-and-roll.

O'Neal stepped forward to cover the defense, but Allen Iverson did not force the ball.

He changed hands and passed the basketball to Dayao.

Dayao made a free-standing Golden Rooster shot and easily scored two points.

The point difference officially became single digits.

The Lakers lead the Knicks 79-70 with only 9 points left.

Looking back at the Lakers' offense.

After Kobe came to the frontcourt with the ball, he immediately started playing with his back.

After reaching the low post, he turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper.

"Clang!"

The basketball hit the basket and came out.

O'Neal worked hard to grab the rebound under the attack of Dayao and Kurt Thomas.

During the second offensive opportunity, Yao received a volleyball-style block.

The basketball was slapped and flew out of the baseline.

Accompanied by Dayao's classic chest-beating roar.

Seeing this scene, Han Ning suddenly had some thoughts in his mind.

Today's Dayao especially likes to beat his chest and roar.

Maybe, I can teach him something different.

Thinking of this, Han Ning revealed a strange smile on his face.

On the court, the Lakers took a foul ball.

The basketball was passed directly to O'Neal's hands.

Facing Dayao's defense, O'Neal chose to play hard from behind.

Compared with Dayao, his biggest advantage is his strength.

However, Dayao is not so easy to deal with.

After bumping into it several times, he moved two steps toward the basket.

Then O'Neal put the ball together with both hands and turned around quickly.

He raised the basketball high with his left hand, preparing for a hook shot.

But suddenly another figure appeared next to him.

Kurt Thomas dropped the post player he was supposed to be guarding and came to O'Neal's side.

He slapped the basketball away again.

Allen Iverson, who was not far away, grabbed the basketball and then started to rush towards the Lakers half court.

Kobe hurriedly retreated and stood in front of Allen Iverson to defend.

After attacking Gary Payton for most of the quarter, Allen Iverson's physical strength was also affected to some extent.

So he couldn't use his speed to break through Kobe's defense.

but.

The Knicks have many more players who maintain good physical strength than the Lakers!

In the first three quarters of the game, Dayao was basically only responsible for defense and did not do much offense. Yao was one of them!

Quickly rush to the Lakers' three-point line.
To be continued...