The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 257 - 160 From Now On I Call Him Bike_2

Chapter 257: Chapter 160 From Now On I Call Him Bike_2

Kobe seized the opportunity and suddenly lowered his center of gravity. With a "Shock Dribble," he dodged Artest’s "Turning Strike" and charged beyond the three-point line. This time, he shook off Artest cleanly.

But Su Wan’s positioning was also incredibly precise this time, directly forcing Kobe to stop.

Kobe could only pull the ball back, preparing to attack again.

Artest wanted to switch back to defense at this point, but Su Wan waved him off.

After all, in a "Three Heroes Battle Lu Bu" situation, how could they keep exhausting their youngest brother?

Without the same physical pressure from Artest, Su Wan still troubled Kobe in another way.

This guy’s reaction was quicker than Artest’s, always catching the moment Kobe wanted to make a "Breakthrough" and establishing a timely defensive position. Kobe, seeing this, had no choice but to forcefully drive in with the ball.

Su Wan’s deficiency compared to Artest was revealed at this moment:

His physical confrontation had stabilized a lot compared to last season but was still a bit lacking compared to the level of Kobe and Artest.

Kobe could clearly feel that he could push Su Wan around.

Then you’re finished...

Su Wan continued to use subtle distractions on Kobe, but the leaner Kobe was much more agile and completely unbothered by these tactics.

He was already preparing the trash talk he’d give to Su Wan after scoring:

The zone?

Is that all?

But...

When Artest joined in from the side to double-team, Kobe realized that Su Wan’s little distractions were only to draw his attention. Su Wan’s real goal was to herd him into a trap.

It wasn’t like Kobe had never shot the ball while being guarded by three or four people.

But when those trapping him included Artest and a young O’Neal...

Things were a bit different.

"Slap!"

The forced shot was directly blocked by young O’Neal.

Artest grabbed the ball and passed it to Su Wan.

Su Wan advanced the ball quickly.

"Bang!"

Defense counterattack, smoothly executed, reverberating throughout the entire Conseco Arena.

This basket was definitely a morale booster because from the start of the game, Su Wan and his two teammates had finally managed their first successful double team and counterattack against Kobe.

Only Kobe!

To have the ball in one-on-one situations so frequently and to have lasted until now before encountering such a move.

If it were anyone else, similar scenes might have occurred earlier.

However, now that the scene had played out for the first time, the following developments would only worsen.

After all, defenders like Artest, once they gain successful experience, can quickly execute one successful defense after another.

For the next while, Su Wan began to take the lead in defending Kobe.

His advantage over Artest as the first line of defense was that he reacted faster, able to instantly judge whether Kobe wanted to make a "Breakthrough" or shoot, and even if he misjudged, he could adjust swiftly.

Freak!

Of course, such freakish reaction and adjustment came at the cost of a significant amount of physical fitness.

One aspect where Artest was better at reinforcing was:

His frame was bigger, his mass was greater, and once Kobe got caught in a trap, it was very hard for him to break through again; he could only force a shot, or force another shot...

What?

You say he could also pass the ball?

Sorry, but Kobe’s eyes had only the hoop, especially when they were behind in the score.

After 5 consecutive shots without a score, Kobe’s desire to continue shooting was still surging.

He was literally demonstrating what he’d said, "I would rather go 0 for 20 than 0 for 9!"

Going 0 for 9 meant you were scared to shoot, you had given up...

Giving up wasn’t in Kobe’s dictionary, but it was in Phil Jackson’s!

With 4:23 left in the third quarter and the Pacers having stretched the lead to 15 points, only a scoring wave short of "garbage time," he called a timeout and looking at Kobe, who was awkwardly trapped by Artest, young O’Neal, and Su Wan, said, "Try finding your teammates, Kobe!"

I’ve got teammates?

An irritated Kobe almost blurted out.

But he had to admit, in this game, he was being limited by these three brats from the Pacers.

And as the game continued, they seemed to have caught on to a certain pattern and their restrictions on him became clearer.

Kobe felt restricted.

He believed that as long as he got into the zone, he could take down any opponent, including the Pacers.

Even now, he firmly believed this to be true.

But the current situation was that his zone had not yet arrived!

What if...

He tried passing the ball?

To try was to die!

Heeding Phil Jackson’s advice, Kobe began paying attention to his teammates’ positioning after re-entering the game.

But the result...

I’ve got no damn teammates!

Kobe cursed bitterly.

No wonder he was harsh; Su Wan nearly laughed out loud when he saw the Lakers players unable to score from wide-open positions.

What divine teammates!

But to be fair, those Lakers players were in a tough spot.

Especially the perimeter players, who didn’t even get a chance to play the "Assist Theory" tactic with Kobe, they could only watch from off the court.

You can’t expect teammates like LeBron, who rarely get the ball, to make every wide-open shot, and you can’t expect Kobe’s teammates, who rarely get a chance to shoot, to deliver a "timely rain."

After about 3 minutes of looking for teammates, Kobe, having acquired 1 assist and 2 turnovers, re-entered "Lone Wolf Mode."

But it didn’t last long, because during his attempt to play "Magic" and find teammates, the Pacers fired off a 5-0 scoring wave, suddenly blowing the lead up to 20 points.

With Kobe adding another 2 missed shots, the Pacers stabilized the lead to 25 points.

Phil Jackson waved his hand emphatically and called a timeout, preparing to switch out the starters.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢