This shooting percentage really relies entirely on the two-man pressure from O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway. It's almost universally acknowledged that once separated from this superstar duo, the performance of the Magic's shooters would drastically decline.
With O'Neal adopting a kamikaze style of play, the Magic's offensive efficiency dropped significantly, and they couldn't secure defensive rebounds on the defense end...
In this game, the Magic found themselves, just like last season, having to trade offensive blows with the Lakers, and they were doing so at a disadvantage!
The Magic were constantly wary of the Lakers resorting to hack-a-Shaq tactics when they were trailing or when the score was close and personal fouls had accumulated, feeling very uneasy about it.
But it turned out the Lakers weren't even thinking about doing this!
