The Lakers' Management: As Long as Li Fei Doesn't Retire, Kobe Is the Lakers' Ceiling!

An hour after the game, the Lakers' management office on the top floor of Forum Arena was thick with smoke, and the atmosphere was as oppressive as the deep sea.

The rich aroma of cigars mingled with the bitterness of defeat, congealing in the air.

General manager Jerry West, the NBA's "Logo Man," stood with his back to everyone, gazing out at Los Angeles's dazzling nightscape.

That bustling sea of lights now seemed painfully harsh in his eyes.

His reflection appeared in the glass, his brows tightly furrowed, resembling an ancient Greek statue lost in thought.

"Del," West said without turning around, his voice hoarse and low. "Did you see that? Shaq's low-post game, in front of Sabonis and Li Fei, was like... like a bull charging into a granite mountain range. He could strike sparks and make the mountain tremble, but he would never break through it."

Head coach Del Harris sat dejectedly on the sofa, rubbing his temples with an exhausted expression. "I know, Jerry. We tried everything—having Shaq front his man, having him receive the ball on the wing, running pick-and-rolls and dives to the rim... But none of it worked. Li Fei's help-defense range is too vast, and his anticipation is like having God's-eye view of the entire court. He doesn't even need to block Shaq every time. Just standing there is enough to make every one of Shaq's offensive options unbearably difficult."

Everyone else in the office, including the team's vice president and head of scouting, remained silent.

Tonight's game had been like a sharp scalpel, precisely dissecting the Lakers' weak point.

They had built their team around the most dominant center in the league, but before a monster with dominance on an even higher dimension, that team-building philosophy had been exposed as a joke.