When pride still matters

Chapter 408 Jackson’s Choice
Kobe's current situation is like Jordan's before success.

He has distinct personal characteristics, including paranoia, competitiveness, and a strong desire to attack. But compared with Yu Fei, he lacks the motivation to inspire his teammates.

His inability to make his teammates better became his main criticism.

Moreover, now that Yu Fei is with a group of young people in the Sonics, it is no longer convincing to say that the Bucks' players are better as he did in the past.

Jackson would not discuss the matter with Bryant.

Because he tried, and there was a terrible consequence.

Looking at Kobe, who was full of fighting spirit and eager to fight back, old events from a few years ago flashed through Jackson's mind.

That was the 2006 playoffs.

The first year that the hands-off ban was fully introduced was also the year that Kobe Bryant's offense exploded.

He became another scoring leader after Yu Fei who averaged 35+ per game.

He made a one-way threat like Kobe look like an antique from a backward era.

Before Jackson could make arrangements, Kidd took the lead and said with a sense of responsibility: "Before that, I will defend Frye."

That's not the change Jackson wanted to see in Bryant, but that's how Bryant understood the advice.

At this moment, Yu Fei on the opposite side looked like a basketball player in perfect form.

When Kobe only scored 1 point in the second half, the Lakers certainly had no chance of winning.

That was Kobe's prime. Unfortunately, that time was when Yu Fei started the Bucks' second consecutive championship. No matter how brave the regular season was, the playoffs are the stage where real gold is tested.

Jackson has known Kobe Bryant for many years, and he already knows enough about this man. He will not back down, he will continue to fight in his own way, and if he is healthy, the Lakers have no chance of winning.

Kobe is not a typical black American. He has a particularly sensitive heart.

Bryant agreed with Jackson, nodding and saying, "I'm going to kill Brandon Roy first."

In that game, Kobe scored 23 points in the first half and only 1 point in the second half.

Where's Fry? Who will deal with Frye?

Sports writers always use Kobe's experience of living in Italy since childhood to portray him as a black man with a European flavor in their narratives. However, in Jackson's view, Kobe's temperament has a strong Russian flavor. He is opinionated, reckless and determined. When his ideas are frustrated, he will accept suggestions, but the way he accepts suggestions is not "OK, I will do what you say", but "Let me see how the hell it works." no".

Once he accepts advice, he goes from one extreme to the other like a Russian.

Even if there is a problem, Kobe should be made aware of the problem himself, rather than him taking the initiative to raise it.

Then, Jackson thought the time had come, and he had a long talk with Kobe at halftime, mainly trying to get Kobe to pass more passes.

Magic's organization and passing, Larry Bird's offense and versatility, Scottie Pippen's athleticism and defense.

Facing Nash's Suns, Kobe once dedicated a famous double-win game in a single game, but he was more of a struggle and helpless. At that time, the Lakers were expected to eliminate the Suns in Game 6, but their fate was changed by a game-winner. In Game 7, doubts about Kobe became more intense. Even Jackson himself felt that the Lakers must adjust their style of play.

"Kobe," Jackson said, "you can't fight one against two."

When Yu Fei led the new Bucks to a victory and swept the Eastern Conference, Kobe Bryant fell in the first round of the Western Conference.

In the first half of Game 7 against the Suns, Kobe still went all out, but the Lakers fell behind.

From then on, Jackson understood that he had to let Kobe be himself.

The Lakers' third position is too weak, so they can only arrange it this way.

Jackson agreed.

Returning to the game, Kobe, who received Zen Master's permission to attack, was obviously much more proactive than before.

The triangle offense suddenly turned into a one-corner offense, and Kobe's offensive priority was greater than anything else.

However, Roy came to his senses.

Especially during the timeout, when Karl educated Roy with "You can't play like Kobe", the effect was obvious.

For Roy, you can criticize him however you want, but you just can't say that he is like Kobe.

What's the meaning? Is this a hint that he and Da Fei will have internal strife and break up, and only one person will be left in the end? Is he that kind of person?
Let alone his relationship with Da Fei, just talk about Da Fei as the thickest thigh in the league. How crazy does he have to be to fall out with him?
Tightening a thigh with a small hand has only been done by Kobe Bryant in the NBA since ancient times (and he did it successfully).

A steady Roy will be more calm when facing Kobe who is full of firepower.

In terms of strength, Roy and Kobe are not on the same level.

If you really want to open up singles, he will be beaten quickly.

But once Roy had an epiphany and used the power of his teammates for his own use, even Kobe couldn't easily defeat him.

Kobe scored on Roy's head, and Roy went to the frontcourt and fed Brown pie.

Brown got excited about eating, and then turned around and started talking.

O'Brien eagerly wants to fight back, but unfortunately, the Lakers' main attack direction is from the outside.

Is there something wrong with this? Obviously the Lakers have a greater advantage inside, so why do they have to play outside?
This is what happens when a star hijacks the team's play style.

But it's one thing for a star to kidnap his teammates, and it's another thing for the coach to support him.

Jackson has completely given up on following the footsteps of "Real Science". It is a mythical beast. Since it is a mythical beast, it can be an auspicious existence. What is auspiciousness? It just exists in the imagination, and the fantasy world has everything. The real version of rational science is "crazy Kobe + sane Kidd". The two of them work together to form the rational science department.

Kidd is here to do this, he lets Kobe be himself, and he needs to pass the ball clearly.

But now he still needs to keep an eye on Yu Fei.

And this is basically an impossible task. During the Nets era, Kidd couldn't control Xiao Fei, but now Fei, who is at his peak, comes to beat him and it is already suspected of bullying.

Roy saw this matchup and passed the ball decisively.

Yu Fei hit Kidd hard, hit the paint with his back, and suddenly collected the ball and hit the board with an inside hook.

It's so simple and looks effortless.

Jackson shook his head, thinking about how Kidd restricted the Spurs' backcourt in the semifinals, but now he was as weak as a defensive hole in front of Yu Fei.

Such a result is foreseeable, and Jackson can only hope that Kidd can withstand the pressure.

What happened in the next few minutes was that Kobe proved he could be trusted.

He got out of the initial dilemma and mastered a systematic offensive method against Roy.

Post-playing, catching and shooting, and breakthroughs all have a high success rate.

The more Kobe Bryant plays, the more he proves that the Lakers are right to focus on the outside.

Because Roy is not an excellent defender, he has no experience and lacks skills. He mainly relies on consciousness, but his consciousness cannot be compared with Kobe.

Kobe beat Roy to death, and when he came back, Yu Fei did whatever he wanted under Kidd's defense.

What he pursues is not just to defeat Kidd, but to radiate his personal influence to the entire positional battle and actively influence his teammates by defeating Kidd, that is what he wants to do.

In those minutes, Kobe scored 11 points on Roy, while Yu Fei only scored 6 points on Kidd, but also sent 4 passes.

Even Kobe, who was facing Roy, helped Kidd defend and Yu Fei seized the opportunity and assisted Roy to hit a three-pointer.

After the first quarter, the Sonics' offense still suppressed the Lakers, scoring 29 points despite extremely high defensive intensity, while the Lakers only scored 22 points.

The advantage of 7 points is not huge, but the content of the game is intriguing.

Kobe scored 15 points in a single quarter and handled most of the Lakers' offense by himself. He was already firing on all cylinders.

"George, let me keep fighting."

Yu Fei, who played the first quarter, applied for a consecutive run.

Seeing that Yu Fei's breathing was stable, Karl asked casually: "You really don't want to take a rest?"

Unlike Kobe, who had obviously exhausted his energy, Yu Fei looked as if he had just warmed up even though he was sweating.

"It won't be a problem to play for another five minutes," Yu Fei said.

"That's fine." Karl said, "You can bring KD with you."

Durant, who had been sitting on the bench for a long time, finally heard the call and stood up eagerly.

He certainly wants to prove he's worthy in the Western Conference Finals.

But so far, he's been the icing on the cake and never been a helper.

He came to Yu Fei's side and wanted to say something to express his determination.

Yu Fei glanced at him and said without any expectations: "Use your body more when defending, and try to stay in your sweet spot when attacking. Do you understand?"

Durant nodded yes.

As a result of Yu Fei playing the second quarter, the Lakers did not dare to let several core players rest.

Jackson replaced Kobe, who wanted to keep fighting, and then asked Kidd, who had proven that he couldn't guard Yu Fei, to persist again.

"We need to buy Kobe a few minutes," Jackson emphasized. "He needs to rest."

Kidd understood that his task was not to chase points, but to control the court and try not to let Yu Fei expand the score when Kobe was away.

"Are the Lakers so inconsiderate of you? Even though you are old, they won't let you take a break."

Yu Fei dribbled the ball across half court and said after seeing Kidd.

"You know, Frye." Kidd began to press, these words seemed to leak out from between his teeth, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Well said, that's why everyone is standing here.

Yu Fei opened up the formation and asked his teammates to stay where they were. His intention was very clear, he couldn't pass the ball anymore.

No matter how cautious Kidd is, if Yu Fei's every move is a fake move, the probability of being stunned is greatly increased.

When his focus was raised by Yu Fei's fake shot, the collapse of the defense was a foregone conclusion.

Yu Fei took off the ball and hit Kidd's chest. The referee on the wing blew the whistle, clearly indicating that this was a three-point foul. Then, Yu Fei's body jumped straight up into the air, and he softly hit a three-pointer that frustrated his opponent before it reached the end.

Will get in.

This is how Yu Fei feels when he takes action, it's so smooth.

Watching Yu Fei's shot from close range, Kidd felt his scalp numb. He looked back and saw the ball passing through the net in a perfect arc. How accurate was this arc?
The ball didn't even touch the net, it was a real hollow hit!

"AND ONE!!!"

"Four points from Fry!!!!!!"

"@!#￥!#@￥"

Key Arena was so noisy, but Yu Fei turned to the Lakers bench and shouted loudly to No. 24: "Kobe, if you don't play now, you won't have the second half!"

(End of this chapter)