The Logo Man glanced at the slick-haired man on the opponent’s bench, paused for a moment, then responded, "Showtime."

"Yeah, do you think I can see such a grand occasion again?"

The hint of melancholy in the owner’s tone pained the Logo Man. He knew how much this owner loved basketball. Back then, this owner had risked everything to buy the Lakers and worked hard to bring him back as general manager. Although he reached where he is today through his own efforts, the Logo Man still felt grateful for the recognition.

"Of course, soon, it’s coming soon."

The game on the court had already started.

The Lakers didn’t have the upper hand at the start!

From the beginning, the Heat controlled the pace and grinded on defense. The Lakers’ plan, to disrupt the opponent’s defensive setup using fast-paced play in the half-court, wasn’t working as envisioned.

In the latter half of the first quarter, Del Harris substituted the offensive lineup, putting in Sedale-Srte, Anthony Peeler, Doug Christie, George Lynch, and Campbell to stabilize the situation.

The Logo Man swapped Sibaros to replace Doug Christie. Initially, the idea wasn’t to strengthen defense with Doug Christie. In a team as poor as the Raptors, although Doug Christie’s defensive efficiency was quite good, his defense went unnoticed because the overall team defense was terrible — one guard alone couldn’t sustain it.

Unexpectedly, Doug Christie’s addition provided the Lakers with a complete defensive lineup. Except for Sedale-Srte, who had an average defense rating of 74, the other four players, with the worst being Anthony Peeler, had a defense rating of 79.

This gave Del Harris more room for adjustments.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers were trailing the Heat by 4 points at 15-19 going into the intermission.

As he was about to re-enter the court, Zhang Hao, who had been diligently observing the opponent’s defense and thinking, clapped his hands and quickly reviewed the Heat’s first-quarter defense.

The feeling was vastly different from their encounter at the season’s start!

"The Divine Calculator is indeed amazing. With this broken lineup in the Heat, he actually managed to improve their defensive continuity in less than half a season!"

Del Harris didn’t adjust the offensive tactics but emphasized decisive shot-making.

Against the Heat’s high-intensity defense, having touch and seizing fleeting opportunities was crucial.

Touch can’t be controlled, so the players have to be trusted; seizing opportunities requires decisiveness.

...

The referee blew the whistle to start the second quarter. As Zhang Hao lost the jump ball to Moning, the Lakers were on offense this quarter.

Switching between starting small forward and rotation center, Zhang Hao’s positioning was always quite magical.

"At least it’s better than those games where I started at center and rotated to play shooting guard..."

After Van Exel advanced to the frontcourt, Zhang Hao moved to the mid-range on the left baseline with Kurt Thomas.

Jason Williams was at the other side of the three-second zone restraining Moning, Doug Christie was on the same side with Zhang Hao at the 45-degree three-point line restraining Billy Owens, Anthony Peeler was on the weak side three-point line guarded by Koels, and Van Exel was closely tagged by Rex Chapman.

After nearly two months, Kurt Thomas had firmly secured his position as the Heat’s starting power forward, averaging 25 minutes per game with 9.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks, becoming a standout among the second-tier power forwards in the "Year of the Big Forward" as viewed by the media.

Seeing Zhang Hao’s movement, Kurt Thomas knew exactly what he intended — to bully him again!

Never let this guy look down on me!

Kurt Thomas, internally roaring, desperately pushed forward, trying to disrupt Zhang Hao’s reception with fierce confrontation.

However, when Kurt Thomas pushed up, and as Zhang Hao extended his arm for position, it felt like he was being pushed by Moning’s arm, unable to help but lean back, stepping back half a step.

Ouch!

Even positioning was pushed back!

Here it comes! That scene again! The on-site fans began cheering loudly!

Before Kurt Thomas could react, Zhang Hao had received the lob from Van Exel and collided with Kurt Thomas once more.

Just three times! Zhang Hao rapidly executed a triple hit combo, bumping Kurt Thomas into the three-second zone!

Moning was initially waiting for the best opportunity to double-team, but Zhang Hao, who previously needed a few seconds to gradually bump Kurt Thomas into the three-second zone, quickly pushed him under the basket, leaving Moning no time to react as Zhang Hao had already turned around for a close-range jump shot!

Watching the ball go in, Zhang Hao couldn’t help but want to shout — Jason, thank you!

Though he said otherwise, Jason Williams ultimately couldn’t resist his body’s instincts... No, it was the coaching staff’s arrangement. Yesterday afternoon, he practiced for a long time with Zhang Hao on how to exert effort more effectively when cutting in.

Today, he was unwilling to do it again, as Del Harris hadn’t instructed him to help Zhang Hao train due to the game at night, which couldn’t afford Zhang Hao tiring himself out.

Mostly, Zhang Hao wasn’t doing great yet, but given the opponent was the Heat and their power forwards weren’t heavyweights, yesterday, he primarily worked on the simplest driving to the paint with his back against the opponent, drawing double-teams or shooting.

"It’s always more comfortable to play center in isolation... No! I shouldn’t think this way! I’m a forward! Moreover, I can’t always play this way; playing off the ball, the Magician’s facilitating is crucial for my shooting."