The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 422 - 204 Defense Wins the Championship!!!_3

Chapter 422: Chapter 204 Defense Wins the Championship!!!_3

The NBA, after Michael Jordan retired in ’98, took a long 10 years to finally bring the finals viewership back to 80% of its peak period.

Hmm...

Yes!

Even so, it was only about 80%.

Because when Michael Jordan took his last shot, the real-time viewership was 36 million people.

Considering the proliferation of television over these 10 years, along with the internet’s development, in fact, this year’s finals needed at least 35 million viewers to catch up with the peak moments of ’98.

Of course, David Stern never expected it to reach that level; even if it was around 33 million, he was quite happy.

After all, Kobe was only 28 years old, and Su Wan even younger at 22.

The two of them had every chance to create greater excitement...

Phil Jackson looked more solemn tonight than before.

He had thought that after the last game, Kobe would agree with him and stop trash-talking Su Wan.

But to his surprise, Kobe was even more resolute in his refusal.

The feeling of holding back against Su Wan made Kobe very uncomfortable; he didn’t want to experience it a second time.

And he didn’t believe that facing the "strongest Su Wan," he would definitely lose—the last game, if the Lakers had had a chance to counterattack, he was confident in killing off the Pacers. If it was just a one-ball difference, why should he play the fool?

Kobe always thought that if you were timid on the court, how was that any different from losing?

No difference at all... frёewebηovel.cѳm

So...

Tonight, faced with Su Wan’s trash talk, he didn’t hesitate to strike back:

"Kid, Phil told me not to trash talk you; he thinks not provoking you is the best choice."

"He’s afraid of you!"

"But I’m not afraid!"

As he spoke, he was extremely confident.

Su Wan had to admit that even if Kobe couldn’t keep his pants up, on the basketball court, he was a respectable opponent!

"Kobe, congratulations, you’ve earned my respect!"

"!!!"

Kobe laughed in annoyance.

You, a third-year rookie, respect me?

How could your face be so thick?

When I was winning championships, did you even know which way the doors of Conseco Arena faced?

It’s downright absurd!

An irate Kobe immediately demanded the ball at the start, preparing to take Su Wan on one-on-one.

But then he seemed to think of something and immediately regained his composure, beginning to look for Yao Ming, who was successfully positioned in the post.

It’s ripe!

It’s ripe!

It’s truly ripe now!

Su Wan felt like he was seeing Kobe with Paul Gasol.

Back then, Kobe might still force his play on court, but more often than not, he would choose to play by the strategy, force himself to pass the ball, and stand out at the critical moment to finish the game.

That was the Lakers’ basic playstyle when they won "back-to-back" championships in ’09 and ’10.

Of course, it was also Kobe’s comfort zone.

This time, even though the Lakers didn’t have Paul Gasol, they had Yao, who could dominate inside.

The Lakers’ tactics would only make Kobe feel more familiar.

The game once again proved that the Pacers’ defense truly had no answer for Yao.

Their only option was to drain Yao’s physical fitness and wait for a counterattack later; at the moment, they couldn’t do anything else.

Much less anything but watch Yao take shots and then helplessly shake their heads, or feel the pressure mounting on offense.

Especially since the Lakers were scoring continuously; if the Pacers couldn’t keep up the pace, they could easily fall behind.

In the last game, the Lakers controlled the first half’s rhythm like that, and if it weren’t for the Pacers’ hot three-point shooting, scoring a total of 15 three-point shots in the second game of the finals, the Lakers would have established a clear advantage in the first half.

Just like in this game’s first half.

The Lakers established a 12-point difference.

With 7:34 left in the third quarter, Yao started to "decline," and Kobe stepped up.

Tonight, he was obviously in a much better state than at the same stage in the last game.

The main reason was that he had no mental burden; on the contrary, defeating the "strongest Su Wan" had become his obsession. He wanted to prove to Phil Jackson that what Shaquille O’Neal feared, Kobe did not fear!

What Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t beat, Kobe could win!

That was the reason Old Bass chose to keep me and not Shaquille O’Neal!

From 8:14 in the third quarter to 8:13 in the fourth quarter, nearly a quarter’s time, Kobe furiously scored 16 points.

Su Wan also went all out during this time, scoring 17 points, one more point than Kobe.

But it was only because the Lakers had built a sufficient lead in the first two and a half quarters.

Merely outscoring Kobe by one point, Su Wan couldn’t tie the game.

In the end, the first game back in Los Angeles saw the Lakers win against the Pacers, 109 to 102, by 7 points, changing the series score to 2-1.

Kobe glanced at Su Wan with arrogance, then walked off the court, looking at Phil Jackson even more smugly. He said nothing, but Phil Jackson saw it clearly:

How about that?

Even if I trash-talked, didn’t we still win the game?

Phil Jackson still couldn’t comprehend Kobe’s "no need for masochism" mindset, but he had to admit, there was one trait Kobe shared with Michael Jordan:

They both believed they could take down anyone!

The Los Angeles media breathed a sigh of relief; finally, they had a chance to catch a breath from the edge of the cliff.

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om