Chapter 291: Chapter 73: The Key to the Triangle Offense

At the end of the first half, the score was 55-51.

The Pacers were ahead by 4 points.

One small detail: as both teams headed back to the locker rooms, Kobe stayed on the court to practice his three-point jump shot for a few minutes. A Lakers staff member had to call him back to the locker room.

This worried Brian Shaw, who was serving as an analyst at the ESPN commentary desk.

Brian Shaw was a former Lakers player. He had won a three-peat with the Lakers and retired after losing to the San Antonio Spurs last season.

He was considered Kobe’s best friend on the Lakers, and he had frequently returned to the team this season to mediate the relationship between Kobe and O’Neal.

Midway through the season, there were even rumors that O’Neal wanted to "take out" Kobe, and he had taken action. This was because Kobe had complained on television that O’Neal was spending too much time nursing his toe injury, watching two Hall of Fame players who were playing for next to nothing burn themselves out on the court while he sat back and reaped the benefits, only caring about his own contract extension.

Fortunately, Brian Shaw stopped O’Neal and organized an in-depth conversation.

During that conversation, Kobe and O’Neal voiced some of their true feelings.

Kobe accused O’Neal of calling himself the "big brother" in public, but when Kobe ran into trouble in Eagle County, O’Neal hadn’t even given him a single phone call.

O’Neal said he’d had his bodyguard call twice, but Kobe never answered.

Kobe then said, "I thought you were my friend, but you never once supported me publicly. Little Sheep Su Xi even went to the police station with me. You only think about yourself."

O’Neal retorted, "You were in trouble, and the whole topic was sensitive. You wanted us to speak up for you, but you have to let us know how we’re supposed to help."

This statement became the starting point for his teammates’ accusations against Kobe. They pointed out that Kobe never participated in group activities, even refusing when they tried to get him to join them for dinner at the hotel on away games. Moreover, they invited him to every party, and he never attended a single one. They also mentioned that Kobe hadn’t invited any of them to his wedding.

The conversation was frank and open.

Brian Shaw thought it would resolve the conflict between the OK Combination. ’Men, after all, just need to talk things out,’ he thought.

But it only resolved the superficial conflicts.

Brian Shaw began to worry that the Pacers would use a divisive strategy to sabotage this year’s Finals. If the Lakers lost this year’s championship, their relationship would be beyond repair.

Shaw had an attachment to the Lakers.

He also had an attachment to the OK Combination.

But at the same time, he also knew that the person in the entire NBA who probably understood Kobe best was Little Sheep Su Xi. On the surface, they seemed to be two completely unrelated people, yet a strange character like Kobe had taken him to concerts, invited Su Xi to his home, and even completely held back in the All-Star Game to help Su Xi win MVP.

In Brian Shaw’s eyes, this was simply unbelievable.

...

In the locker room, Su Xi listened to Carlisle’s plan. Carlisle said, "In the second half, we can let O’Neal score a few more baskets first, and apply pressure defense on Kobe."

Carlisle’s idea was to make Kobe’s jealousy explode. Once he started going off on his own, the Pacers’ chances of winning would increase significantly.

Carlisle’s psychological tactic made a lot of sense.

’For me, there are also tangible benefits,’ Su Xi thought. ’If we use pressure defense on Kobe, it could activate his acquired super talent. Then I’d also gain a lot of insight along the way, which would help me make great strides in my scoring ability. After all, Kobe’s "killer instinct" super talent might be the strongest acquired super talent in history.’

But at the same time, he felt that half the game was already over, and the Pacers were still in the lead. There was no need to take such a risk; they could just play normally.

’What if Kobe goes on a rampage and just tears through our defense?’

Kobe was capable of it.

Most importantly, unlike the Pistons,

the Lakers’ bench wasn’t strong, and Carl Malone and Gary Payton’s stamina wasn’t exactly boundless.

The defensive pressure they put on the Pacers wasn’t as intense as the Pistons’ either.

If they could maintain their first-half offensive efficiency and get into a shootout with them, the Pacers’ chances of winning weren’t low.

And when it came to crunch time, they could always use the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy.

Su Xi presented his thoughts to Carlisle. Carlisle thought for a long time. He neither agreed nor disagreed, suggesting they see how things play out first and make adjustments on the fly.

Carlisle wasn’t a dogmatic, old-school academic type.

...

In the locker room, Carl Malone was furious. He was unhappy that they were actually trailing at the half, and even more furious about watching Su Xi do whatever he wanted on the court.

"You have to stop this stupid infighting! I’ve had enough! I didn’t take a pay cut to come here and suffer."

"I want a fucking championship! A fucking championship, you hear me?!"

Carl Malone was hysterical.

The iron-willed power forward hoped Kobe and O’Neal could let go of their so-called grudge, stop blaming each other, unite to destroy the Pacers, and then raise that damn championship trophy.

Shaquille O’Neal mumbled, saying passive-aggressively, "Some people always think they can handle everything on the perimeter, but in reality, they’re just relying on a hot hand."

"Some people always think their defense in the paint is unbeatable, but in reality, they didn’t even make an All-Defensive Team," Kobe shot back.

"Enough!"

Phil Jackson stopped their argument; he had no choice but to intervene. He said, "If you want to turn yourselves into the biggest joke in history, then keep on bickering."

"Four Hall of Fame players gathered together, and if you can’t even beat a rookie like Little Sheep Su Xi, I suggest you all retire."

Phil Jackson said bluntly.

He managed to quiet the locker room, for the moment.

Then, he took out his clipboard and analyzed the Pacers’ play style from the first half, especially Su Xi’s dynamic play.

He then began to lay out specific counter-strategies and repeatedly emphasized the importance of the triangle offense.

He wanted all the players to put aside their distractions and ensure they executed the plays on the court as planned.

Phil Jackson had a powerful presence. As a super-coach who had helmed three dynasties, he could command the room.

The Lakers’ locker room fell silent once again.

...

BWEEEET!

The whistle blew, and the second half began.

Both the Lakers and the Pacers made a change at the point guard position. The Lakers subbed out their starter, Gary Payton, for Fisher, while the Pacers replaced Su Xi with Kenny Anderson.

The Pacers came out aggressively. On the very first play, Reggie Miller hit a long two-pointer with his foot on the line.

Devin George couldn’t do much against the aging Reggie Miller.

On the other end, the Lakers executed the play Phil Jackson had drawn up on his clipboard.

Kobe isolated on the strong side, established position to draw the double-team, then passed to Carl Malone, who hit a jump shot from the free-throw line.

Throughout this sequence, O’Neal roamed the paint, drawing defenders away from them.

Next, the ball went back into the paint, with O’Neal initiating the play. O’Neal posted up, drew the double-team, and passed to Carl Malone again. Malone then passed the ball to Kobe, who hit a shot from beyond the three-point line.

They started to find their rhythm.

Although their triangle offense wasn’t as precise as the Bulls’ version,

Carl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant were arguably top-three all-time scorers at their respective positions. With them executing the triangle offense, the result on the offensive end was completely overwhelming.

The Pacers couldn’t stop them.

There was no way in hell they could stop them.

The Pacers had proactively stockpiled many big men this season, but they were useless now.

You can’t just keep fouling, can you?

"The Lakers’ key player right now is Carl Malone. We have to lock him down," Su Xi said to Carlisle.

Carlisle nodded. He also knew that Carl Malone was the most important key to the Lakers’ system.

But, looking at the entire bench, who could guard him?

Little O’Neal could offer some resistance, but if he was pulled out to the free-throw line, the help defense in the paint would be weakened.

O’Neal would run even more rampant, and Kobe could also penetrate with ease.

It was a chain reaction.

The Finals were not just a battle on the court, but also a clash of minds.

"Let me do it," Su Xi said. "I’ll go lock him down. Ron can lock down Kobe, and the bigs can be ready to double-team O’Neal at any time."

...