The second quarter had barely started when Kobe signaled insistently that he wanted to get on the court; he even stood up and took off his warm-up jacket.
Sitting out the ga for such a long ti was sothing he was extrely unaccustod to.
It itched!
It felt like ants were crawling all over his body.
But Phil Jackson still made him sit back down.
Not until 1 minute and 24 seconds did he finally let Kobe enter the ga. Kobe had rested exactly 5 minutes from the mont he left the court with more than 7 minutes to go in the first quarter: "From now on, you might not get any rest!"
Kobe had a ’bring it on’ expression on his face.
The ’Fierce Fighter’ trait was undoubtedly on display at that mont.
Phil Jackson seed a bit dazed, the no. 8 of the Lakers before him suddenly turning into no. 23 of the Bulls.
Well, maybe it was because of that joint he smoked before coming to Indiana... It was too potent.
Rick Carlisle also brought Su Wan and the others onto the court.
Facing Kobe again, Artest released all his bullish energy.
Especially when Kobe got the ball, Artest’s elbows flew like they cost nothing, each jab exciting Kobe more and more.
Yes, yes, yes!
This is the kind of confrontation I want!
This is the confrontation!
Kobe, Protecting Ball Hand, pushed against Artest’s chest, sticking out his tongue and charging in past the three-point line, elbowing Artest hard to clear him off.
Even with a body like a beast, Artest couldn’t just shoulder the blows; it was like Moriyama Kanai’s release speed—no sap could withstand it!
But when Artest retreated, before Kobe could catch his breath, Su Wan stuck to him.
It was getting more like ’Three Heroes Battle Lu Bu’!
This season, Kobe’s average assists per ga were 4.5, but his turnovers were also as high as 3.1.
You couldn’t say he lacked the ability to distribute the ball during offense, but you couldn’t say he was exceptionally good at it either.
Plus, at that mont, Su Wan’s defensive matchup was Cook.
A 42.9% three-point shot percentage looked good, but he only shot once per ga on average.
Clearly, like Calderon, he wouldn’t take a shot unless he was pretty sure of it.
Su Wan could boldly leave him unguarded.
If he managed to hit seven or eight three-pointers tonight under such circumstances, well, that’d be fine.
The Lakers needed the future no. 24, not 24 points!
That was the state of the Lakers.
As the seasons progressed, ’Kobe scores high, Lakers don’t win’ beca a pattern because the Lakers would get stronger, and Kobe’s support would increase. If Kobe had to score high, it usually ant his teammates were slumping, and he had to transform into a giant to save the team.
But this season, if Kobe couldn’t score high, the Lakers were basically done for.
Kobe, facing Su Wan’s help defense, wasn’t the slightest bit panicked; he feigned a continued dribble breakthrough, fooled Artest who rushed over again, and right as Artest was ready to go for the steal, Kobe rose up for a mid-range jump shot.
The ball went through the net with a swish.
Su Wan’s hand was almost up Kobe’s nostrils, yet he still couldn’t stop Kobe from making the basket.
"Two people aren’t enough, you should have five people defend !"
Kobe shouted to Su Wan as he fell back on defense.
What else could Su Wan say?
Thanks for delivering "The zone"!
Against a team like the Lakers, which relied on one core player, Su Wan was never stingy about activating "The zone."
Little O’Neal ca up to set a screen, but Su Wan waved him off, directing him to the side.
Confronting Kobe face to face, Su Wan hadn’t spoken when Kobe said first, "You’ve finally got so guts!"
He was pleased with Su Wan’s move to send the screening Little O’Neal away.
What was with this duel constantly being interrupted by a third person?
It wasn’t even played out that way in Ran Dong!
"You want to see ’The zone’, don’t you? I’ll satisfy you, Kobe!"
Su Wan imdiately exerted force, and Kobe definitely felt Su Wan’s breakthrough beco more ferocious; he stepped back rapidly but could only watch as Su Wan blasted past him.
Had it been too long since he last played against this guy, or had his physical fitness improved again?
In Kobe’s hazy mory, Su Wan wasn’t this fast.
’Crack!’
With him as the first line of defense being so weak, the Lakers’ already nonexistent interior defense beca even less visible.
Su Wan, bombing the rim and falling back on defense, confronted Kobe: "The price is, tonight you’ll leave with a crushing defeat!"
Kobe snorted disdainfully, his gaze growing sharper.
Su Wan’s words were like a bucket of gasoline poured onto his heart, igniting a fire that made him blaze with intensity.
Like!
Too similar!
It was too similar to the third quarter of the previous ga against the Raptors.
Back when the Lakers were trailing by 8 points, Jalen Rose, after a defensive failure, shouted at him, "Kobe, you can leave with a high score, but the victory is ours!"
How similar it was to the current situation!
If I could score 81 points in a single ga once, then I could do it a second ti!
Kobe repeated to himself in his mind:
I can do it, I must do it, I certainly can!
His defense against Artest’s offense beca even more sharp.
The ’Beast’ felt like he was being hunted by a natural predator.
Since entering his peak in ’04, he had never encountered an opponent who could exert such imnse pressure on his defense.
Mainly because Kobe this season had fully integrated his one-on-one skills, flowing smoothly from one move to the next, which ant that Artest always had to consider Kobe’s second or even third option during their face-offs.
Overall, it was just too passive!
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