The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 415 - 203 Goodnight Kobe

Chapter 415: Chapter 203 Goodnight Kobe

Kobe slightly furrowed his brow and retaliated with a question, "Phil, do you think I’m not a match for Su Wan?"

Should I win the game without agitating him?

Tonight, he scored 29 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals; Su Wan’s stats were 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

In terms of shooting percentage, he was around 46%, Su Wan 47%.

No matter how you look at it, he was no worse than Su Wan.

Phil Jackson wasn’t surprised by Kobe’s reaction. He said, "Most of the time, you have the upper hand, no doubt about that!"

That made Kobe even more puzzled.

If he had the upper hand, why did Phil Jackson still want him not to provoke Su Wan?

He was very clear on this approach.

In the ’90s, that’s how they treated Michael Jordan to win games.

Some even bizarrely tried to get along peacefully with Michael Jordan, turning into his "praise team."

Was this treating Su Wan like Jordan?

And...

In front of him?

Phil Jackson found it hard to explain to Kobe; he couldn’t just say that hearing "trash talk" fired Su Wan up, could he?

Wouldn’t that be the same as encouraging Kobe to keep trash-talking Su Wan?

"Kobe, just trust me once. Next game, no matter how much Su Wan taunts you, don’t respond. Then you’ll see why I want you to do this!" Phil Jackson put on his "mystical advisor" facade.

Kobe’s whole face contorted.

This was the most uncomfortable thing about dealing with Phil Jackson. He knew this guy was pulling his leg again, but he couldn’t help wanting to try what Phil Jackson suggested.

He wondered if Michael Jordan felt the same way about Phil Jackson back in the day...

The "Zen Master" kept watching his expressions, and seeing his flickering gaze, he knew Kobe took in his words, though his pride was still struggling. Phil Jackson didn’t press further, as he wasn’t sure which wrong word he might say would touch Kobe’s sore spot.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt that Kobe was difficult to coach.

Su Wan had also finished his interviews. His expression wasn’t overly excited; winning the first game was just "the first step of a long march," full of anticipated hardships. And after this first game, he clearly understood that the Lakers would be the greatest "obstacle" to the Pacers’ three consecutive championships dynasty.

—Congratulations, Su Wan, you won tonight’s game.

—Thank you.

—Don’t you think I’m your lucky charm?

—Then tonight there must have been thousands of lucky charms.

—Is finding a reason to invite me for a drink that difficult?

—If there’s a chance.

—I’ll wait for you.

After the chat, Su Wan didn’t ask why Ivanka was in Indiana, and she didn’t say.

It was...

A self-awareness of their relationship.

Crossing that line would only feel burdensome.

The next morning, the discussions about the first game of the finals were much louder than previous finals.

Both teams, whether at a tactical or superstar level, provided much to discuss.

Many media people were making suggestions for the Lakers; they believed Phil Jackson’s use of Yao Ming was too complicated.

The Pacers clearly aimed at Yao’s physical fitness as their breakthrough point, so why not let Yao be the main offensive force in the first three quarters? Especially since, as seen in the first game, the Pacers had no one who could really match up against Yao on the inside.

Then, in the fourth quarter, let Kobe step up to seize the game!

With Kobe’s current capabilities, he was absolutely able to do what he had achieved in the early 2000s.

Although the opposing team also had a "King of Fourth Quarter," whose explosive performances in the final quarters were countless, Kobe still seemed to be the more persistent guy based on the first game.

Phil Jackson didn’t know whether it was like those online writers crowdfunding their books through "book reviews," but there was a clear change in the Lakers’ playstyle in the second game, just as the media had suggested—letting Yao Ming attack the Pacers’ defense in the first three quarters as the "main attacker."

The effect was very obvious.

While Foster’s defensive capabilities were top-notch in the league, he couldn’t form effective defense alone against Yao Ming.

Honestly, with Yao’s height and skilled techniques, general inside players would indeed be confused.

O’Neal could only help with the defense.

And he couldn’t defend like he did against other inside players, blocking Yao’s turn before rushing up.

Yao had many shooting options after turning; high off the glass, hook shots, close-range jump shots, and one-handed dunks were all techniques he often used.

But when O’Neal double-teamed early, Yao could pass out of the trap very smoothly.

This was a player who averaged 2.3 assists per game at his peak.

And that was with the Rockets’ rather poor lineup.

The Lakers had a much more reasonable setup, having decent shooting ability from the point guard to the power forward, with instability as their only issue.

Just by Yao’s strong attacks under the basket, combined with Kobe occasionally catching and shooting along with his ball handling, the Lakers had a continuing lead from the start until midway through the second quarter.

At this point, Yao reached the first stage of fatigue, and the Pacers seized the opportunity, starting their counterattack with a "Small Lineup" and three-point shooting.

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