Kobe needs Jas to play like Scottie Pippen, but that’s exactly what Jas’ team and Nike don’t want to see.
All along, they have been avoiding Jas turning into Pippen under the Lakers and Phil Jackson.
Yes, Scottie Pippen had a brilliant career, winning many honors.
Seven rings, seven All-Star appearances, seven All-NBA Teams, ten All-Defensive Teams, a steals title... His accolades are absolutely solid, and you can’t say his career wasn’t successful.
But in any magazine’s list, Scottie Pippen never makes it into the top twenty of the league.
His historical status doesn’t match his honors.
The reason? People think he was only successful because he was beside Jordan and Roger.
He’s like an actor in an art film, no matter how great the work, the actor is always a supporting role.
That’s why Nike will never allow Jas to beco Scottie Pippen, and that’s why when Roger told Jas "you play like Scottie Pippen," Jas was shattered.
But now, Kobe demands he plays like Scottie Pippen, and Jas cannot refuse.
Because it is expected by everyone, because he has exhausted all his teammates’ trust in the first ga.
Because it’s the only chance for the Lakers to turn the ga around.
So in Ga 2 of the series, people saw a fully Pippen-like Jas.
He focused more of his energy on defense, and Phil Jackson really treated him like Pippen, letting Jas go hard against Roger from the start of the ga.
In the last ga, even though Jas was consistently picked by Roger, his initial defense against Roger wasn’t actually bad. It was only in the third quarter, when he ntally collapsed, that his performance plumted like a free fall ride.
But today, Jas completely let go of the offense, also letting go of psychological pressure and team status.
No matter what, win the series first.
After all, it’s only the Western Conference Finals, and in Jas’ view, this series alone isn’t enough to pronounce a death sentence on him.
What if he wins the Finals MVP?
Jas was serious about his defense on Roger today, although it caused him to have almost no involvent on offense, his defensive enthusiasm remained undeterred.
It truly worked, Roger’s offense was greatly restricted today; wherever Roger went, Jas was there like a shadow. Even in chasing Roger’s off-ball moves, Jas did excellently.
Of course, the most important thing is Roger also had to expend energy defending Jas, which affected Roger’s offense to so extent. In the last ga, even with Roger’s strong stamina, defending Jas while being the main attacker lasted only three quarters.
Roger didn’t forget to continue using words to provoke Jas: "I really didn’t expect the forr King of Cleveland to willingly beco Kobe’s dog."
And Jas calmly responded: "King? Dog? On the basketball court, there are only losers and winners."
Throughout the first quarter, Jas only attempted twice, otherwise running plays and passing.
He remained active on offense, just lacked shooting desire. This ant defending Jas remained a challenge for Roger.
No matter how Roger used trash talk to insult him, he didn’t go mad anymore, maintaining his defensive intensity.
Kobe entirely beca the leader, scoring 14 points in a single quarter and leading the Lakers ahead.
Jas had 3 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, still versatile, but not striking in statistics.
Jas’ Pippen-like transformation seed to bring effect, the world saw after Kobe yelled at Jas in the first battle, how the team changed.
Al Michaels praised Jas’ performance excessively: "Once LeBron finds the way to cooperate with Kobe, he performs as expected. I think LeBron has a chance to beco the best number two in NBA history!"
Jas heard Al Michaels’ voice, though his intention was to praise Jas, it sounded like "I wish Dwight Howard a house full of descendants," even without malice, spoken as if cursing.
In the second quarter, Jas maintained his defensive passion, but Kobe encountered trouble.
Chauncey Billups wasn’t particularly accurate today, Jas also exhausted too much on defense affecting his offensive vitality. This led Warriors to decisively double-team Kobe.
On many possessions, Kobe had to opt for forced passing or shoot tough shots against two defenders.
Scottie Pippen was strong, but as soone who won four championships with him, Roger knew well, Pippen wasn’t so perfect.
The biggest flaw was that he provided limited scoring support as a star player.
Whether it was Jordan or Roger, they have experienced scenarios in the playoffs where Scottie Pippen went silent, forcing them into one-on-many situations.
After acquiring "Pippen" today, Kobe began to experience these, but the problem is, Kobe is ultimately not Jordan or Roger.
His ability to solve problems is strong, but compared to Jordan or Roger, slightly less efficient.
And on Roger’s side, he had to defend soone who didn’t score much, the cost-effectiveness was too low.
Roger was indeed restricted by Jas, although not locked down completely. Furthermore, Roger still had Brandon Roy’s help.
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