"Yeah. If Wang Yi can do it, he'll make history once again."
"But the Lakers need to be careful to protect Wang Yi."
"We can see that although he's still playing at a high level and still putting on a spectacular show, he's clearly not as fast as he was when he was younger, and he clearly can't jump as high as he used to."
"He can still dunk over the Artificial Giant, but it's not as effortless as it used to be."
"So if the Lakers want to go further and win the championship this season, more players have to step up. They can't rely on Wang Yi alone."
As for Phil Jackson, he had already glimpsed the potential of the Lakers' future style of play before the game was even over.
The Lakers might no longer be able to run the Triangle Offense, and they might not have as many star players, but they could run the Pick and Roll and shoot threes.
If their threes were falling, the Lakers would be practically unbeatable.
If they weren't, they could rely on the Pick and Roll with Wang Yi and Aiton, or with Little Rivers and Aiton, and on Wang Yi's ability to create his own shot in the half court.
Besides, the Lakers had plenty of Three-point Shooters. It was understandable if one or two were off, but surely not all of them could be cold at once?
So Zen Master still had plenty of confidence in the Lakers' future.
The schedule continued.
After opening the season with a huge win over the championship-favorite Pistons, the Lakers went on to lose two straight.
In one of those losses, Little Rivers sprained his ankle midway through the game and had to leave, and the Lakers eventually fell short.
In