Just this?

Just this?

Just this?

Amway Center, Orlando, center court, serving as the Lakers' primary offensive focus tonight...

When a wary Marc, filled with awe for Howard, tentatively launched an offensive in the low post toward the "Happy Beast" behind him, dubbed "New Superman" and "New O'Neal" by the American media...

What Marc, who had already been mentally scarred by Yao Ming and Duncan, never expected was...

So, this is the true level of NBA star centers at this moment.

On the court, facing Marc's overwhelming strength, Howard couldn't utilize his advantages in defensive coverage and help defense.

Moreover, with the Lakers deploying a "one-bear-four-shooter" starting lineup specifically for Marc tonight...

And with the Magic's wing players unable to provide him support...

His slender legs trembled almost instantly before Marc's mighty physique.

Although, during a turnaround hook shot, Howard successfully disrupted him with his superior speed...

In Marc's view...

From now on, he only needed to feint a few times during his offense...

In this one-on-one low-post situation, he could completely devour the "Happy Beast" before him!

On the court, after the Lakers' initial attack failed, Bibby quickly dribbled the ball past half-court.

This season, the reason the Magic were able to make the playoffs in the East was not only due to Howard's growth but also to the fact that the Magic had quietly recruited helpers for Howard in recent years whose attributes complemented him perfectly.

Unlike the Howard of the future, who only wanted to prove his dominance in the low post, the current Howard was very willing to set screens for his teammates. As a result, Bibby had a career-best season, averaging 20.8 points and 6.8 assists.

In addition, Hedo Türkoğlu, who the Magic recruited this summer, successfully compensated for Bibby's shortcomings in organization.

In Su Feng's previous life, if you only looked at the stats, Türkoğlu, who averaged only 11.1 points, 2.8 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in his career, might not even be considered a qualified starter by many stat nerds.

However, compared to the stats Türkoğlu put up on the court, he was definitely one of the most underrated point forwards of this era.

Because Türkoğlu's peak assist numbers were only 5.1 per game.

Therefore, whenever people mentioned point forwards in the NBA, Türkoğlu was often selectively forgotten because of his subpar stats.

But in basketball games...

You have to know that your assist numbers don't completely equate to your playmaking ability.

Because indirect assists cannot be presented most directly through data, Su Feng believed that Türkoğlu's excellent offensive orchestration for the Magic was the most critical factor in the Magic's ability to make the playoffs this season.

In addition, although Türkoğlu only averaged 16.5 points this season, most of his points were scored in the most crucial fourth quarter, and his average shot attempts were only 13.4, so his scoring stats also failed to reflect Türkoğlu's importance to the Magic.

To put it more directly...

At his peak, Türkoğlu not only didn't use many resources, but he could often deliver the most critical damage and output.

On the court, in this play, after dribbling past half-court, Bibby passed the ball to Türkoğlu, who had circled to the wing, and Türkoğlu immediately spotted the vacuum in the Lakers' interior.

However, because Su Feng's defensive range was also exaggerated, after observing the situation, Türkoğlu directed his teammates to move while passing the ball to the other side, where Pietrus passed it to Howard.

This season, ever since Van Gundy officially took over as the Magic's coach, if you watched the Magic's offense closely, you would notice...

Regardless of who finished their attacks, the ball would go through Türkoğlu's hands in most cases.

It's a pity...

In all the offensive plans Türkoğlu had envisioned, he had vastly underestimated Marc's defensive deterrence in the low post...

So in this play, after receiving the ball in a deeper and better position than Marc had earlier, Howard couldn't directly attack the basket immediately.

And if it were normal, Howard, remembering Van Gundy's teachings, might have passed the ball back to the outside for Türkoğlu to reorganize.

But for Howard, who had just taken a few Flying Bear Eighteen Palms from Marc...

Just some second-round pick like Marc...

How dare he flaunt his strength in front of him?

You f-

What sins did these two super centers commit!

No...

You call that a "hook shot"?

Honestly...

Even if you found a shot put athlete on the track, his shooting motion might be more standard than Howard's.

Bang!

There was no *clang*.

There was no *swish*.

Because in this play, Howard hooked the ball directly into a spot a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the small square on the backboard.

In the paint, watching this hook shot that seemed to be nailed to the backboard and bounced back, Su Feng accepted the defensive rebound with a smile.

Howard: "..."

Amway Center, the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Fortunately, while his offense wasn't great, Howard's speed in transition defense was still impressive.

Criticize him all you want.

In Su Feng's opinion, if you were going to criticize Howard's defensive ability at his peak, you were just being deliberately obtuse.

On the court, Howard, who could help defend anywhere from the paint to the three-point line, not only successfully stifled the Lakers' fast-break momentum in this transition but also used his amazing athleticism to deter the Lakers players who were trying to cut.

This is Dwight Howard.

A man who could be traded for LeBron James at his peak based solely on his defense and rim-running!

Just...

Here's a guess, it might not be right.

That is...

Could the Lakers be deliberately abandoning the fast break tonight, choosing to settle into a set offense?

On the court, at the high post, after forming a triangle with Marc and Evans, Su Feng fed the ball to Marc's chest again, just like the opening play!

At this moment...

In front of the TV, before Ben could even cry, O'Neal had already shed a bathtub full of tears.

"Wow, good heavens, the Lakers' triangle offense is actually being run through Marc Gasol?" On CCTV, Zhang said with a surprised expression.

Drive.

Still driving.

In the low post, after driving Howard back two body lengths, Marc Gasol suddenly turned around with flair.

At the same time, although Howard readjusted his balance and lunged at Marc again in the first instant...

But who would have thought...

This damned fat Marc was just deceiving Howard!

However, Howard's ability to jump repeatedly was indeed amazing...

In this play, after being faked out by Marc, he actually jumped up again after landing!

However, if you can't shake him off once...

Then wouldn't shaking him off twice be okay?

On the court, after Howard completely lost his defensive ability, Marc deliberately leaned his body toward Howard and sent the basketball steadily into the hoop off the backboard!

Beep!

Bang, swish!

Basket good, and one!

"Nice job, Marc!" Beside him, after Marc scored, Su Feng immediately ran to Marc's side and gave his solid back a "pat of love."

"Marc, you've met a good teammate." At this moment, in front of the TV, Pau, who had been paying attention to his rebellious little brother ever since Marc entered the NBA whenever he had time, said with a touched expression.

Amway Center.

Howard was having a hard time.

However, the "Happy Beast" didn't know that the real "happiness" of this game had only just begun.

In the first quarter, after the Heat reached the foul limit, Coach Lue waved his feather fan, and Mbenga, who replaced Vujacic, immediately hugged Howard.

Howard: "..."

On the court, because the Lakers had taken a 13-8 lead over the Magic when they started using the "Hack-a-Howard" strategy...

Therefore...

The nearly 20,000 Magic fans in the Amway Center were stunned.

Immediately afterward, to protest the Lakers' shameless behavior, the Magic fans at the scene immediately erupted in deafening boos.

Just...

As soon as the boos started, Su Feng walked up to Howard, looked at him with a painful expression, and said, "Dwight, you should quickly find a way to leave this place!

Look, how much do they have to dislike you to boo you when you're shooting free throws!"

Magic fans: "..."

Is that what we mean?

Su Thief!

Hearing this, Howard, who was already prone to nervousness during free throws, completely broke down.

Clang, clang!

After missing two free throws in a row, where was the disdainful look he had given Marc before the game?

In the first quarter, Marc, who was 5-of-8 from the field, scored a total of 13 points and grabbed 4 rebounds for the Lakers, including free throws.

And Howard...

Although the "Happy Beast" only scored 3 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the first quarter...

But at least...

At least he successfully fouled Mbenga out of the game with six fouls!

"Damn, 1-of-12 from the free-throw line, even Ariza's three-point shooting isn't this bad!" During the timeout, Su Feng was speechless as he looked at the stats on the big screen.

Because even if Howard's ability to handle pressure was poor...

Su Feng didn't expect the kid's mental breakdown to come so quickly.

So, in order to get Howard to cheer up, Su Feng, as the amiable senior in the eyes of LeBron and others, walked to the Magic's bench before the start of the second quarter and said to Howard, "Come on, Dwight!

Whether we can win tonight depends entirely on you!"

Howard: "..."

On the side, looking at Su Feng's ugly try-hard face, Van Gundy felt that Su Feng had taken all the bamboo shoots in Orlando for himself. (a metaphor for being shameless)

"Don't take these trash talk to heart, Dwight!

As long as you can guarantee a 50% free-throw percentage, they won't dare to foul you recklessly like they did in the first quarter." After Su Feng left, Van Gundy turned his head to look at Howard and began to baby him.

In the second quarter, thanks to the "outstanding performance" of the Lakers' bench, the Magic successfully narrowed the gap to 5 points before the two teams switched back to their starters.

And just as Su Feng was looking at his assist stats while feeling a pang of heartache...

As Howard entered the game, the faint sorrow in Su Feng's heart immediately disappeared.

The Lakers didn't continue to use the "Hack-a-Howard" strategy in the second quarter.

Because in the first half of the second quarter, the Lakers' offensive rhythm was clearly affected by the game being constantly interrupted.

However, after Marc became more and more confident...

In Su Feng's opinion, it was a bit of a waste of talent that Howard didn't perform acrobatics in a circus or become a tyrant in Gotham City.

On the court, when Howard confidently showed the world the "rabbit hop" he had learned from Ewing...

No matter how you looked at it, his movement looked more like a frog hop.

Immediately afterward, when Howard tried to dance gracefully in the low post like Hakeem Olajuwon twice in a row...

On the sidelines, the referees immediately interrupted Howard's performance, which was as awkward and hair-raising as Zhou Shuyi's dancing.

At this moment, how much sorrow can there be?

It's like Hakeem and Ewing's tears flowing eastward!

Amway Center, at the end of the first half, the Lakers, playing on the road, led the Magic 54-43.

After the halftime break, in the third quarter, Howard, who had been babied by Van Gundy again in the locker room, clearly reduced the number of his initiative attacks.

Using pick-and-rolls, Howard repeatedly slammed dunks, which somewhat salvaged his face.

It had to be said that during Van Gundy's coaching tenure with the Magic, Howard's offense was rough...

But at least, through the space created by his teammates and his own athletic advantage, he could make a lot of contributions to the team on the offensive end.

However, after Howard's ambitions gradually expanded...

At that time, even if you were Kobe, Harden...

You wouldn't be worthy of him setting a pick for you.

A lack of clear understanding of his own positioning was the fundamental reason why Howard, in Su Feng's previous life, went from being a generation of interior beasts to a Happy Beast that everyone wanted to bully.

As for his slender lower limbs and absolute strength that wasn't enough to shatter everything like O'Neal?

Ha!

In the NBA, who says that all inside players have to be as solid and reliable as Yao and Marc?

To put it bluntly, with Howard's athleticism at his peak...

As long as he remembered Van Gundy's teachings to him...

Then just rim-running and defense would be enough to make him a formidable force.

It's a pity that in the NBA, most athletic players rely on sacrificing intelligence to gain talent...

So, in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers once again used the "Hack-a-Howard" strategy...

At the end of this game, Howard was destined to only be able to vent his anger by burning Su Feng's jersey.

In the end, the final score of the game between the Heat and the Magic was 109-98.

On this night, Howard successfully saved the Lakers' bunch of incompetent players with his 5-of-22 free-throw percentage.

Marc, who regained his confidence in this game, scored a new career-high of 30 points and 17 rebounds.

After the game, Spanish fans were overjoyed.

Because this season, Marc's performance had completely exceeded their expectations.

"Su is my mentor in life.

He not only taught me the correct way to play the game.

And his usual encouragement has also given me the confidence to play in the NBA.

Tonight, I was able to have such an outstanding performance entirely because of Su's positive guidance."

In addition, after the game, in an interview with the Spanish media, Marc once again showed the world his unwavering heart towards Su Feng through the media.

However, this touching scene...

Made Ben, who couldn't even make the starting lineup in Detroit this season, genuinely feel what it meant to be desolate.

This season, although Ben, who was already 33 years old, was the highest-paid player on the Pistons...

But after the Pistons' management requested Rivers to transform the team into an offensive-minded team...

The hero Ben, who was once hoped for by the entire Motor City and was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team with the support of Pistons fans...

Had long since changed...

The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Looking at the Afro who was earning the most money on the team but only contributing 3.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game...

The Pistons fans' patience with Ben had reached its limit.

Life is like a dream.

Whether it was the light and shadow in Philadelphia.

Or you shoot, I rebound in Toronto.

For Ben at this moment...

How wonderful the past memories were.

Then how cruel the situation he faced now was.

The setting sun, the twilight of a hero.

Even if there was any unwillingness in his heart...

This season, Ben, who even felt powerless on defense, was unable to change it.

Sitting on the bench was not a good time.

And Ben, who had long since passed his edgy youth, was even more tired of Rivers' platitudes.

"What a lucky young man!"

That day, watching Marc Gasol on TV, Ben sighed silently.

…

ps: A small chapter of nearly 5k words is delivered! Mwah!